Broken Walls
by Pro-Rose
Summary: Rika was always known as the strong one in the group. But when something unexpected happens, can she keep up her barriers? Or will her walls crumble down? -WARNING: Rape, some foul language, MAJOR brutality and Angsty-ness  not for the faint of heart!
1. Chapter 1: The Descent

Broken Walls

Hey, my characters may be a bit OOC, but hopefully not too much.. It's been awhile since I saw DigiTamers so.. anyway yeah, that's my excuse. Hope you enjoy~

**Character Ages:**

Rika – 15 (almost 16)

Takato – 15 (just recently turned)

Jeri – 14 (on the way to 15)

Henry – 16

Ryo – 17

Kazu – 15 (just recently turned)

Kenta - 14 (on the way to 15)

* * *

Chapter 1

Rika Nonaka walked awkwardly down her home's hallway. It was late at night and she wasn't sure of the time, but it didn't really matter to her anyway. She was sore all over and had a horrible headache, yet, the pain was somehow numbed. Not caring if she woke anyone up, Rika stumbled into her room and fell onto the floor. She wondered if her grandmother had been worried and felt a slight pang of guilt. She brushed her thoughts away though and pulled herself of the floor.

_What did I do to deserve this?_

She slipped her torn clothes off of her body, noting how frail she truly was.

**_It's because you're weak._**

She pushed the taunting voice down into the back of her mind and walked into her bathroom. It was then that she let out a slight gasp.

"I look like a wreck" she mumbled to herself. Her hair was disheveled and free of its usual hairband. She had bags under her eyes and a cut on her cheek, but she knew that the rest of her body looked much worse. As she felt a stinging at the back of her eyes, she took a deep breath to calm herself.

_I refuse to cry over this. I haven't cried in years and I'm not about to break down now._

She took another breath and examined the rest of her body. Her body was covered in bruises, cuts, and scratches as well as dirt and who knows what else. She looked at herself in disgust.

_Some digidestined I am. _

**_Pathetic_**

The taunting voice had rung through her head again. Even if it was only in her mind, the negative thoughts continued to echo while she uselessly tried to push them aside.

**_Such a slut._**

_Shut up._

**_You know you enjoyed it._**

_Shut up._

**_The harsh kisses, the cold ground, the danger of it all. It thrilled you, didn't it?_**

_I said shut up!_

She held her head and closed her eyes, simply wishing for silence. For once, her wish was granted and she sighed, reopening her eyes and letting her arms fall to her sides. She went into the shower and turned on the hottest water that would flow out of it. She scrubbed every inch of her body at least five times, but even after all that, she still felt dirty. Rika decided to give up for the night and walked back into her bedroom to change. She quickly got into her pajamas and into her bed.

_I hope I fall asleep quickly.._

**_Doubtful. You should probably go sleep with another-_**

_Just shut up already.._

**_You're either a slut or a weakling so take your pick, Rika._**

The last negative thought stayed in her mind until she slipped into unconsciousness.

_I'm not weak.. I'm not.._

* * *

"Rika, it's time to get up" an elderly voice spoke. Rika's eyes shot open and she quickly ran into the bathroom before her grandmother entered. She sighed once again at the cut on her face, wondering how she could hide it.

"Okay, I'm getting dressed" she yelled out to her grandmother.

"Don't forget that your mother is coming back tomorrow" her grandmother said before walking back down the hallway.

_Oh yeah, like it really makes a difference whether she's here or not. I still would've gotten-.. It still would have happened.._

**_You know you liked it._**

Rika let out a sigh, refusing to argue with herself today. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide the scar on her face so she simply put a bandage over it. She then proceeded to change into a black, long-sleeved shirt and her usual jeans. She threw on her usual broken-heart shirt over the black one so she wouldn't raise suspicion. Finally satisfied, she put her hair up and walked out into the hallway.

"Rika, aren't you going to eat breakfast?" her grandmother asked as Rika passed the dining room.

"No. I'm not hungry" she replied simply and left on her bike.

_If only Renamon were here..._

**_Pathetic. That was three years ago; aren't you over that patch of data yet?_**

Rika ignored the taunting voice and continued peddling until she reached the park. She hopped off her bike and walked toward Takato, who at that point was waving like an idiot, and noted that Jeri had tagged along with him. Lastly, she noticed Henry, still as calm and peaceful as the first day she met him. He gave a smile as a way to say hello and acknowledge that he saw her.

_Typical._

As she got closer to the three, an anger rose within her. Why were they so happy? Why did Henry ALWAYS have to be calm? And why couldn't he wipe that smug smile off his face? Rika knew she hadn't any reason to be angry with them, but for some reason everything about them seemed to bug her.

"Hey Rika! You're finally here! We thought you might've forgotten" Takato greeted.

"Hey Rika" Jeri smiled while Henry simply nodded.

"Only **you** would forget something like that, goggle head" Rika retorted with a slightly harsh tone. They seemed to take it as a joke since Jeri and Takato laughed a bit. Once again though, Henry had to be different and observant.

"Rika.. what happened to your face?" Henry asked almost too innocently. But something told Rika that it was really just concern in his voice.

"Nothing. Just a scratch."

"Oooh, battle scar huh? How'd you get it?" Takato asked, now interested.

"None of your business" Rika sneered.

"Aww come on, don't be like that" Takato whined.

"Yeah, you know you can tell us anything" Jeri supported. At that line, Rika hesitated. Could she tell them? They wouldn't think she was a slut or anything. She knew they'd understand and accept that it was not a willing thing.

**_But they'd see the truth. They'd see that you're weak._**

_I'm not weak._

**_They'll see you for what you really are. You're not as strong as you act._**

_That's not true. I'm not weak._

**_Well then tell them and see what happens. Watch their eyes turn to pity. Pity for the poor weak Rika who couldn't even protect herself._**

"Well?" Takato asked.

"Fine," Rika groaned, "I got... into a little fight on the way here. He got one on me, but he was down before he could get a second."

"That sounds like something you'd do" Takato chuckled.

"You're so strong, it must be nice not to be afraid of anything" Jeri complemented.

"..Yeah, I guess" Rika mumbled.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, of course" Rika scoffed. She would punch him one of these days for all the trouble he gave her. Always snooping, always suspecting. It really got on her nerves.

Fortunately, the rest of the day went by without any questions. They simply talked about all kinds of things; school, family, life. When the sun started to set though, the four decided to call it quits. After a few goodbyes, Takato walked Jeri home and Rika headed to her bike. Of course, Henry had to be difficult and grab her arm. She winced slightly from her bruises before turning around and glaring at him.

"What?" she asked, obviously irratated.

"How about I walk you home?"

_He wants to walk me home? Why on earth does he want to do that?_

**_He doesn't believe you, of course. He can see through your blatant lies._**

"Why?" Rika asked him suspiciously. She was sincerely hoping that the negative thoughts were wrong, but she couldn't figure out any other reason he would want to do that.

"Cause it's getting late and it's not safe to be out on the streets alone" Henry answered logically.

"Thanks, but I can take care of myself" she stated, ripping her arm out of his grip.

"I know that, but just do it for me, okay?" Henry responded with a friendly smile. Rika sighed and simply nodded her head. Deep down she didn't want to go home alone in the dark, but she would never admit that to Mister-Know-It-All Henry. She grabbed her bike and started walking down the street with it and Henry.

They walked along silently as Rika did her best not to flinch at all the sounds of the night. She briefly wondered if Henry noticed how nervous she was, but soon decided that she didn't care. Henry would think what he wanted to, whether it was true or not. She was taken out of her thoughts when Henry stopped walking. She looked at him questioningly before realizing where she was. Home.

"Well I'll see you tomorrow" Henry smiled and waved.

"Yeah, see you later" Rika mumbled.

Henry was out of sight within a minute. She took her bike next to her home and parked it. Then she entered the house, briefly said hello to her grandmother, and finally slumped onto her bed in her room. She stared at her ceiling for hours, going over the day and thinking about all the reactions of the day. Had she really fooled them into thinking she was still the same?

_Yeah, Takato and Jeri believed me so quickly.. but why do I feel disappointed?_

She rolled onto her side and remembered her difficulty with Henry. In the end, though, she supposed that he believed her. Did they even really know her at all? She felt dirty and she even dared to admit that she felt scared. Just a little bit. But her so called friends didn't notice anything wrong.

**_Isn't that what you wanted?_**

She rolled onto her other side, trying to clear her mind so that she could sleep. However, the memory of the previous night haunted her mind, refusing to forget. It's not like she had asked for it. She wasn't drinking or on drugs and she wasn't wearing anything scandelous. In fact, she barely showed any skin at all. She was just on her way home from school. Just a typical friday night. But it hadn't been a typical night at all:

_"Stupid teacher. Keeping me after school just because I punched that snobby girl" Rika grumbled. The cold wind blew and she shivered slightly. Feeling some one staring at her, she turned around only to see an empty street. She shrugged to herself and continued walking. She was only a few blocks from home_

_Suddenly someone pulled her into an alleyway, taking her by surprise. Getting over the initial shock, she bit the person's hand and stomped on their foot. The stranger growled in pain and let go of Rika. She turned around to face him when a knife slashed her cheek. She held in her gasp and jumped back, trying to give herself some distance. As she was about to think of a strategy, something slammed her head against the wall. She slumped to the ground, her head reeling with pain. She slowly looked up to see that she had not one, but two attackers._

_"Idiot, why'd you pull out the knife?" the new figure yelled._

_"She bit me!"_

_"Whatever; let's just do this and get out of here."_

_"Boss, she's not moving.."_

_"So what?"_

_"What if you killed her, man?"_

_"Right, I guess that would take the fun out of it" the figure laughed._

_Rika gave a look of disgust as she did her best to refocus. She tried to forget about the pain in her head and the wetness that she knew could only be blood. She stumbled onto her feet when one of the two attackers pushed her on the ground again. Unfortunately for her, she landed in a muddy puddle which soaked her clothes and hair._

_"Hold her arms down would ya?"_

_"Alright, boss."_

_As one of the two men pinned her arms above her head, she began to kick and struggle. She smirked as her foot kicked the second man back. The smile left her face just as quick as it appeared when the other man slapped her across the face. The pain from her head reentered her thoughts as she continued to squirm. The second man was up again and kicked her side.. hard. She yelled out in pain and attempted to kick the man again, but he already held her legs down. She squirmed and pushed, trying her hardest to overpower the men, but they were too strong. She glared at the man as he took his shirt off and smiled deviously._

_"Now, let's have some fun, princess" he chuckled._

* * *

**_CHAPTER END_**

That's it for now but please review! This is my first time writing fanfiction and I'm curious to see if i'm any good at it. I'll take contructive criticism but please no useless flames... at least contribute, ya know? I'll try to have Chapter 2 up soon, so stay tuned ^^

UPDATE: Hey uh.. a lot of Rukato fans out there huh? o.o; Anyway, I'm a bit stuck on the second chapter, but only because I'm not sure if the story if worth continueing.. Once I get at least 5 reviews for this chapter, I'll finish chapter 2 and post it up. If anyone could give me some tips, that would be very much appreciated. Oh and I fixed some of my spelling errors and stuff.. so yeah, Stay Tuned~


	2. Chapter 2: The First Crack

Well my last idea kinda crashed and burned since nobody else reviewed.. but! I decided to post my 2nd chapter up anyway because even if there's just one person reading it, I want to finish this story through to the end ^^ ENJOY~

* * *

CHAPTER 2

Rika awoke in a cold sweat, hearing giggles from the other room. She checked the clock and realized it was almost noon. She got up out of bed and walked into the bathroom to evaluate herself once again. Bruises and scratches still covered her body, but she felt less sore than she was yesterday. She slowly ran her hand along her arm, staring in fascination and disgust at the abuse.

"Rika, dear! It's almost noon; it's time to get up" a young woman's voice suddenly called out.

_Oh joy, mom's home…_

Despite her thoughts, Rika was slightly comforted by the fact that her mother had returned home.

_If I told her… she would understand…right?_

"I have someone I'd like you to meet" her mother yelled out again.

_Please don't be another boyfriend…_

**Your mother is busy with her own life; she doesn't have time to listen to your whining. You're just her living mistake.**

Rika brushed away her thoughts and got dressed into a long sleeve shirt and jeans. She exited her room and walked into the kitchen; prepared for whatever man her mother wanted her to meet. However, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. Rika's eyes went wide with shock and she trembled slightly in fear.

Her mother was clinging onto _that_ man. The man who haunted her dreams.

The man that raped her.

Her mother surprisingly noticed that her daughter was shaking and gave the child a questioning look.

"Rika, hun, are you alright? You're shivering and you're face is pale. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah… I'm fine… just a little cold is all" Rika responded, snapping out of her trance.

"But you're wearing long sleeves! It IS almost spring, you know!"

"I'm just feeling sick, okay? I'm fine" Rika mumbled, refusing to make eye contact.

"There IS a bad cold going around, Rumiko. My buddy Roger had something like this just last week" the man interrupted. Rika's only response was a harsh glare which went unnoticed by her mother.

"You're probably right, Dan. That's must be what it is" Rumiko said with relief.

"I'm going out" Rika mumbled and started toward the door. Dan, however, had a different idea. He grabbed her by the wrist to make her stop, making her cringe in pain from her injuries.

"You shouldn't be wandering outside when you're sick" Dan lectured.

"And _you_shouldn't be telling me what to do" Rika seethed.

"Dan's right, Rika. You should be in bed" Rumiko responded.

"Fine, whatever" Rika grumbled as she yanked her wrist away from Dan.

"Oh no! But I have to go to a photoshoot" Rumiko realized.

"So?" Rika questioned.

"So I can't leave you here by yourself when you're so sick" Rumiko explained as if it were obvious.

"Why don't I watch her then?" Dan suggested.

Rika's eyes went wide once again as her mother agreed and began explaining how to treat a cold to Dan. Surely she was old enough to be alone. Anything would be better than being with _him_.

"Wait a minute! What about grandma?"

"She left to visit her old friend in the mountains this morning" Rumiko replied.

"Why can't I just stay by myself? I'm almost 16, for crying out loud!"

"I already told you; I'd feel better if someone was here to take care of y-" Rumiko halted in mid-sentence as her cell phone rang. She answered the phone, replying with responses like "yes" and "okay". Finally, after a minute, she hung up.

"Mom-"

"Look, Rika, I don't have time for this. They're waiting for me at the photoshoot. Dan is a very nice man and he'll take good care of you."

"But-"

"No buts! Now, I have to get going. I'll see you both later."

Just like that, her mother was gone and Rika was left only with Dan. Almost instantly, his sweet smile turned into a malicious smirk. He reached out and grabbed a stray lock of Rika's hair, curling it with his fingers.

"Well, well; I never thought I'd see you again, princess" Dan stated huskily.

"Get your filthy hands off me" Rika growled, taking a step back.

"Just as feisty as ever, I see. But I recall you _liking_ these hands on you" Dan replied, grabbing her wrists rightly. Rika tried to remove her wrists from his grasp, but he was too strong and she was still in pain from the last time they had met. Before she could even attempt to kick him, he was standing on her feet.

"Let go or else" Rika seethed, trying to keep up her tough appearance.

"Or else what? You'll tell on me? You haven't even told your mother yet. And if you do, I'll just kill you" Dan mocked.

"I'm not a pathetic, helpless girl, Dan. Empty threats don't scare me. Besides, I'd rather die than be your little puppet" Rika spat.

"Oh, really? How about your mom then?"

"What about her?" Rika asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"I'd hate to have to hurt her just because her stupid daughter couldn't keep her mouth shut."

Rika's widened stare was all Dan needed to see to know that the girl wouldn't tell anyone. He had found her weakness. Satisfied with this, he immediately forced her into a rough kiss. She tried to struggle away, but couldn't escape his grasp.

_This isn't happening… Not again…_

**It's because you're weak**

Dan finally forced his tongue into her mouth in which Rika responded by biting down hard on it. He yelped and immediately backed away from Rika, covering his mouth in pain.

"You bitch!" Dan yelled as he spat out blood. At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Rika quickly ran to the door and opened it while Dan simply watched her carefully.

"Takato?"

"Hey, Rika, we've been waiting for you!"

"…oh right…"

Rika glanced back at Dan, noticing that he was stilling holding his hand over his mouth in pain. She then looked back at Takato with a slight look of desperation in her eyes.

"Something wrong, Rika?" Takato asked with obvious concern.

"Let's go."

"Huh?"

Without another word, Rika grabbed Takato by the arm and ran out the door.

"Rika! Why are we running?"

"Just shut up, goggle-head!"

Takato simply complied to Rika's order and focused on keeping up with her. After a few minutes of running, Rika was finally satisfied with the distance they had from her house. She came to a stop and let go of Takato's arm. He immediately fell onto his bottom, trying to catch his breath.

"What… was that… about…Rika?" Takato huffed.

"Nothing."

"What do you mean (huff) 'nothing'? (huff) What were running for?"

"No reason" Rika replied, turning her back to him.

"Rika-"

"Let's go" Rika commanded as she began walking.

"Wait a second, I'm talking to you!" Takato yelled out as he grabbed her wrist. Rika winced at the shooting pain from her still-sore injuries and bit her lip to distract herself. Finally, she turned to face him with her hands on her hips.

"What, goggle-head?" Rika asked, clearly annoyed.

"Well uh… I mean… Is everything okay?"

"Of course."

"Then why did we run away from your house?"

"Because I wanted to, okay?"

Takato's face hardened, to Rika's surprise. He wasn't exactly known for his seriousness; at least in Rika's eyes. Though, he was at least better than Kazu and Kenta.

"Rika. Seriously. You know you can tell me anything."

For a moment, Rika was tempted to tell him. However, her hesitation faded when she remembered Dan's threat. No; the true reason was that she didn't want to let Takato down. She was supposed to be the strong one.

"Really, Takato, it's nothing" Rika responded, trying to sound as sincere as she could. Takato's face immediately lightened up as he smiled, relieved that his friend was okay.

"Heh, sorry. I guess I just overreacted. If any of us can handle themselves, it's you, Rika" Takato said with admiration. Rika's eyes saddened at his comment, but this went unnoticed by the boy.

**Yeah, you handled yourself _real_ well.**

A mocking laughter echoed in Rika's mind as she and Takato continued walking to meet up with the rest of the gang.

* * *

The past few hours with her friends had been uneventful. Kazu teased Takato about Jeri which somehow led into an argument between Kenta and Kazu. Henry joined into the conversation every now and then, making his usual 'mature' comments. Rika, however, kept quiet and just observed her friends. She wondered why she couldn't bring herself to join in too. It was if the whole universe would be disturbed if she were to talk at that moment,

_They're all still the same... so why can't I be?_

**Because you _aren't_ the same anymore.**

_Stupid voice... doesn't know anything..._

**Because you're disgusting and rotten.**

**Impure filth.**

_You're wrong!_

**They're all pure... but you're just a slut!**

_Shut up..._

**Garbage.**

**Whore.**

**Weakling.**

**Slut!**

_Shut up!_

**You enjoyed it! You asked for it! You begged him to!**

"Just shut up!"

"...Rika...?"

Rika's eyes shot open as she realized that she had spoken out loud. Her hands were holding onto her head, as if in pain. Her friends stared at her in cocern and confusion. Rika's mind panicked, struggling to come up with an excuse for her outburst. Henry took a step toward her.

"Rika... are you okay?" he asked gently.

"Yeah, I just... sorry... I just have a major headache. I'm going home."

Before anyone could respond, Rika took off running toward her house. After making it about 10 blocks away, she slowed to a stop, feeling that she had gotten far enough. Suddenly, however, she heard heavy breathing behind her. She whipped around to see none other than Henry Wong with his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Though she was surprised and slightly relieved, she turned around to start running again. Unfortunately, Henry grabbed her wrist before she could start sprinting, once again causing her to wince at the pain.

"Rika, wait" Henry said, still slightly out of breath.

"Why does everyone keep doing that?" Rika yelled, yanking her wrist away from Henry. She turned to face him and crossed her arms in displeasure.

"Rika, I know something's wrong. You might be fooling everyone for now, but even Kazu can tell something's off about you."

"It's none of your business" Rika stated firmly.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on" Henry explained, seeming exasperated.

"What makes you thing I need help, Wong?" Rika growled, angrily glaring at him.

"Because nobody should go through hard times alone" Henry answered sincerely. Rika bit her lip and diverted her eyes away from Henry, unable to look at him and his eyes that seeme to see one's very soul.

"I've always done things on my own. I don't need anyone" Rika responded quietly. Henry's eyes saddened at her remark and opened his mouth to say something, but Rika didn't want to hear anymore. She took off toward her house again, ignoring Henry's yells for her. This time, she didn't stop running until she had made it to her front door.

* * *

**_Chapter End_**

_I hope you guys enjoyed it :3 I put that Rukato bit in for you guys,_ Maxdan and XxGaaraXRukixX. _My only two reviewers so far ^^; Hopefully I'll get more in the future :3 but two reviewers is all I need to keep working on this story! I'll probably have chapter 3 posted a lot sooner than it took to post this one… Anyway, keep reviewing guys~_


	3. Chapter 3: The Crumbling

_Hey guys~! Here's Chapter 3 for you. I'll be responding to reviewers at the end of the chapter, so make sure to keep looking out for updates Oh! And the previous chapter I changed slightly (Rumiko says its spring time now, not summer) that way things will make a little more sense... I guess... I dunno, i just figured I'd go with American-scheduled school instead of the japan scheduled one because of the multiple differences x.x So i don't want things to get all criss-crossy. If I'm having a american scheduled school, there obviously wouldn't be school in the summer. Anyway, enough of my ranting and onto the story! :3 I hope you enjoy~_

_Previous Chapter End:_

**_"I've always done things on my own. I don't need anyone" Rika responded quietly. Henry's eyes saddened at her remark and opened his mouth to say something, but Rika didn't want to hear anymore. She took off toward her house again, ignoring Henry's yells for her. This time, she didn't stop running until she had made it to her front door._**

* * *

CHAPTER 3

Rika stood in front of her door, debating on whether to enter or not. She put her hand on the doorknob and sighed.

_What if he's still here…?_

Rika shook her head and shoved her thoughts away.

_No; it doesn't matter if he's here or not. I'm not afraid of him._

She bravely swung the door open and walked inside, putting on a facade of apathy. It was completely dark without a single light on. The only sound in the entire house was the television that was seemingly left on. She walked slowly and cautiously toward the couch, thinking that perhaps he was sleeping. However, as she got close enough, she discovered that no one was on the couch. She suddenly tensed up and whipped around just in time to see Dan grab her neck and hold her up against the wall.

"You told that boy, didn't you?" Dan yelled.

"W-what?" Rika barely managed to ask with the air being sucked out of her.

"That boy, you told him… But you won't tell anyone else" Dan said threateningly. His grasp tightened around Rika's neck and she yelled out, gasping desperately for some sort of air.

"I- I didn't… I swear" Rika rasped out, trying to pry his hands away.

Dan glared at her hard for a minute as Rika squirmed and flailed her legs, feeling like she was going to burst. Finally, Dan let go of her and she fell to the ground, gasping for air. She put one hand to her neck and stared at the floor in disbelief. She had almost been _killed._

"Pull another stunt like that and not only will I come after you, but I'll kill any of your little friends too" Dan spat, his fear of being caught disappearing.

Rika simply kept her eyes pinned to the ground and focused on breathing. She knew Dan's threats had been serious, but it hadn't really set in until now. She was truly afraid.

"Get up; Rumiko could come back at anytime. And cover up your damn neck, slut" Dan ordered harshly. Rika simply nodded and walked into her room. She was too shocked to give her usual snarky remark or even an angry glare. She simply changed into a turtleneck and waited for her mother to return.

* * *

Rika finished putting on her school uniform and evaluated herself. Normally, she wouldn't care what she looked like or what anyone thought, but it was only 3 days after the incident and her bruises were still visible. Most of them had already started to fade a bit, but the one around her neck from yesterday was clearly shown. There was only one thing to do to hide them and Rika could not believe what she was about to do.

She snuck into her mom's bathroom and searched the drawers. The make-up was easy enough to find; her mother had tons of it. However, she wasn't sure exactly which one was used for these things. Refusing to back out now, Rika grabbed a compact with tan-colored substance inside. She grabbed the foamy-like circle and dabbed it in the tan. Carefully, she applied it to her bruises and put the compact back in the drawer.

Rika stood up and evaluated herself in the mirror again. She supposed it worked, she couldn't really tell if it looked natural or not, but at least she didn't see the bruises. All except the ringed bruise around her neck of course. She snuck back into her room and put a scarf to wear to cover the marking. Finally satisfied, she walked into the kitchen to greet her mother and grandmother.

"Morning" Rika mumbled as she entered the room.

"Good morning, Rika" her grandmother responded sweetly. Her mother, however, only looked at her daughter in complete and utter shock.

"What?"

"Rika, you…" Rumiko started saying as tears came to her eyes.

"What? What's wrong?" Rika asked, beginning to get nervous.

"You're wearing make-up" Rumiko bawled.

"Wha..?"

Rika was not only shocked that her mother knew she was wearing make-up, but also that she was crying about it. Rika's eye twitched slightly in annoyance.

"I'm leaving" Rika grumbled walking out the door. She could still hear her mom crying in joy about this new 'break-through'.

Within a few minutes, Rika arrived at school and parked her bike. She was headed to the door when a group of 3 girls got in her path. Rika sighed and looked up at the girls.

"What is it?" Rika asked, clearly annoyed.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here after what you did to Macy!" one of the girls yelled.

"Whatever. Is that all you have to say?" Rika retorted.

"And what's with the bandage on your face? Trying to show off what a thug you are?" another girl taunted.

"Does it matter? It's none of your business" Rika grumbled, shoving past the girls.

"Yeah, you just keep on walking!" the third girl yelled out. Rika simply turned her head to glare before entering the school building. She had a feeling that it was going to be a long day.

* * *

All throughout the school day, all Rika heard was gossiping. Most of it was centered around herself of course. The rumors varied from gang fights to just making herself look tougher. They finally settled on the bandage being from Macy fighting Rika back.

_If they only knew the truth…_

**Yeah, then they'd just talk about how much of a slut you **_**really**_** are.**

Rika bit her lip as the final bell rang. She usually was happy to get out of the prison called school, but today, she didn't feel like leaving. She knew that Dan would be at her house again, trying to seduce her mother. On top of that, Rika knew that he was keeping an eye on herself too.

_What a sick man…_

**You know you liked it. You love the danger; you love what he makes you do.**

_That's not true! I hate him…_

**You love his roughness. It arouses you, doesn't it?**

_No! That's wrong! All wrong! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!_

"Something wrong, Nonaka?"

Rika looked up to see her teacher staring at her curiously and with slight concern.

"No; why?"

"You just seemed to be very deep in thought" the teacher smiled.

"Thanks, but I'm fine, sir" Rika responded as politely as she could muster, but annoyance still seeped into her voice.

"Well if you ever need anything, you know where to find me."

Rika grabbed her bag and stood up. She didn't want to go home, but she didn't exactly want to be pestered by teachers either. She began heading toward the door when a hand grabbed her arm. She immediately flinched and turned around as if ready for battle. It was her teacher, but that didn't make her relax any.

"Do you need something?" Rika asked rather sharply.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I told you I'm fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be, **sir**" Rika seethed, removing her arm from his grip. The teacher didn't have any time to respond, however, because Rika was already out the door. She ran out of the building and onto her bike, but then she paused.

_Where am I supposed to go…?_

**Home of course.**

_But it's not really home anymore, is it?_

Rika sighed and started riding her bike. She wasn't heading home, but she didn't have any particular destination. She supposed she would just ride around until dark and then she would go home and lock herself in her room.

_This is so stupid… _

**Of course it is.**

_If only I had been stronger…_

**But you're weak. And nobody came to your rescue.**

_I can take care of myself…_

**You called and called, but nobody came.**

_I don't need anybody…_

**Even your supposedly loyal friend Renamon didn't come to help you.**

…

**They betrayed you. They all did. You screamed and screamed-**

_Just shut up and leave me alone!_

Rika came to a stop, clutching her head. Even when no one was around to ask her questions and try to pry into her mind, she still couldn't avoid it. She couldn't avoid that night. No matter how hard she tried, it always came back to haunt her. She was starting to wonder if she would ever get over it.

"Rika?"

_Great… who is it this time?_

Rika turned her head around to see none other than the Digimon King himself, Ryo. Shock was the only thing that could describe Rika's expression. She couldn't believe that Ryo was there of all places.

"Ryo…?"

"I knew it was you" Ryo smiled.

"What…?"

"It's only been two years but you look so much different than I remember" Ryo chuckled.

"What are you doing here?" Rika finally asked, recovering from her surprise.

"Just moved down here, but I didn't know you lived here too. This is really a surprise."

"Yeah, I guess" Rika mumbled.

"Hey, do those other kids live here too?" Ryo asked with curiosity on his face.

"Yeah, they're all here too. Well, later" Rika answered, turning her head back around. She placed her foot on the peddle, getting ready to take off again.

"Wait, Rika! What's the rush?" Ryo asked, clearly taken aback.

"I just don't want to talk to you" Rika stated harshly and took off on her bike.

"Rika…"

Rika kept on going until she unconsciously reached her home. She parked her bike and went inside, not even caring at this point. Dan could try to take her on if he dared. She was **not** in the mood, especially after bluntly lying to Ryo.

_If he just let me leave, I wouldn't have told him off like that._

**He deserved it.**

_Maybe so…_

**But you couldn't beat him. The only reason you're the Digimon Queen is because he disappeared.**

_That doesn't mean he's stronger than me._

**He probably could've taken on those two guys with no problems.**

Rika ignored the doubting voice and headed toward her bedroom. As she went to lock it, it shot open. In the doorway Dan stood with a mischievous look in his eyes. Rika took a step back.

"What do you want?" Rika asked with anger and fear.

"You, of course" Dan answered, taking a step forward.

"Get out of my room or else" Rika said with fake menace.

"Or else what? You'll call mommy? She's out running errands with your grandmother. She left me to watch the house in case you came home" Dan stated smugly.

Rika simply stood there, frozen, with her eyes wide as Dan stepped closer to her. He pulled her hair-band out and began playing with her hair and breathing hotly in her ear. Rika shuddered back into reality and jumped back.

"Leave me alone, I'm warning you" Rika bluffed.

"You know you like it."

Rika paused again. He was just like the voice, filling her head with lies. She knew she didn't like it, she kept telling them that she didn't like it, but they kept on saying it.

"No… I don't. I **don't** like this! I **don't**want this!" Rika yelled.

"But your body's begging for it, see? You're even shaking in excitement" Dan teased.

"I'm not. I'm not doing this again, I refuse to!" Rika yelled out again.

"You refused the last time too" Dan said maliciously.

Before Rika could say anymore, Dan had his mouth on hers, shoving his tongue down her throat. She pushed on his chest to attempt to pull out of the kiss, but Dan had his arms wrapped around her. If anyone had walked upon the scene they might have thought that the two were lovers, but that was far from the truth. Dan pushed Rika onto her bed and put himself on top of her. He sloppily began kissing her neck as he put his hand over her mouth. Usually when someone has their hand over your mouth, you lick their hand and they immediately remove it in disgust. However, Rika knew that wouldn't be the case this time. He might've even liked for her to lick his hand. So instead, she stuck with her pushing and kicking, even though it seemed useless.

Dan was about to rip off her clothes when he noticed she was still in her uniform. He cursed under his breath as he unbuttoned her school jacket with one hand. Rika began squirming even more, but eventually Dan managed to get the jacket off. Next he went for her white button-down shirt. At this, Rika managed to knee him in the stomach, causing him to stop and catch his breath.

Angry and annoyed, Dan ripped the sheets off from underneath them. He used them to tie her wrists to the bedpost and then ripped a section off to shove in her mouth. Dan finally continued on with her after locking her legs down with his own. He stopped for a second just to look at her. Back in the alley, he hadn't had the proper chance, but now he could see her in her full beauty. Her body was covered in light bruises from the last time he took her. He smiled at this.

"I really did a number on you in the alleyway, didn't I?" Dan chuckled, but Rika only glared in response.

Dan took out his pocketknife and Rika's eyes went wide in fear. She squirmed even more than she thought possible as Dan brought the knife to her stomach. He slapped her once, calming the squirming down a little, but only a little.

He slowly started carving something onto her stomach, causing Rika to scream, despite the cloth in her mouth. When he was done with his torturous work, Rika's eyes were watery, but not a single tear dropped.

"Perfect. Now where were we?" Dan smirked.

He grabbed her skirt and began to pull it off despite Rika's resistance. He began kissing her inner thighs and finally reached her underwear. He bit onto it and began pulling it off with his teeth. This earned a shudder from Rika.

"Oh? You liked that?" Dan chuckled, tossing the underwear onto the floor.

Rika shook her head in disagreement, but knew it didn't matter to him. No matter what she said, he would still claim that she liked it. Rika turned her head away as Dan took his shirt off. She knew what he was going to do and she refused to watch it happen a second time. Especially since it was still fresh in her mind:

_She squirmed and pushed, trying her hardest to overpower the men, but they were too strong. She glared at the man as he took his shirt off and smiled deviously._

_"Now, let's have some fun, princess" he chuckled._

_He ripped and tugged at her shirt until nothing remained on her chest but her bra. He soon tore that off as well. He began fiddling with her; slapping, biting, and harshly kissing her torso. Rika was yelling at this point. If she couldn't overpower them, she thought maybe someone could hear her. However, it didn't seem like anyone was coming. Then the man tore off her pants and unbuttoned his own pants._

_"Henry! Takato! Jeri! Kazu! Kenta! Anyone!"_

_"Shut her up already, imbecile!" the apparent boss growled._

_"I'm trying" the other man whispered back while covering Rika's mouth again._

_"Well try harder" the man seethed._

_He tore off her underwear before taking off his own. The two were now completely naked and it began to dawn on Rika that she wasn't going to get out of it. That's when he entered her. No warning, no preparations; he just did it. Rika screamed and tears formed, but she would not let them fall._

_After 10 long minutes of screaming, the second man finally removed his hand. Rika's voice had run out; she'd never screamed so much in her life. Yet, the man still thrusted into her. The pain had become almost numb as her body simply rose and fell at the man's leisure. The rest of her body was limp and her eyes were blank; almost soulless._

_"Renamon…" Rika murmured softly as a single tear finally rolled down her cheek._

_Finally, the man finished, releasing into her. She shuddered at the new substance entering her. The man simply smirked and stood up. When he was done getting dressed, he turned his head toward Rika once more._

_"We'll have to do that again sometime, princess" he chuckled as he walked away. Rika shuddered once again._

_"What? What about me, boss?"_

_"You can have the next one. I think I used that virgin all up" the man laughed._

_"She was a virgin too? Come on!"_

_Rika listened subconsciously as the two men walked away, leaving her broken and bloody. After what seemed forever, she painfully pulled herself off the ground. She gathered her tattered clothes and put them on as best she could. Rika then began her long walk home, her mind too numb to think._

Rika was thrust back into the present when she realized that Dan was positioning himself to enter her. Luckily, the sound of the front door opening stopped him in his tracks. He immediately put his pants back on and ripped the sheets restraining Rika. He quickly grabbed his shirt and ran out of the room, not even bothering to fix Rika. Rika simply sat up in her bed, still shocked that she had been saved that time. Then she heard her mother's voice.

"Hey, Dan!"

"Rumiko! You're back. I took a shower; I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, of course not!"

"Thanks."

"No problem. Is Rika home?"

"No, I hadn't heard her come in."

_Such a lie you scumbag…_

**Just like you.**

_I don't-… I don't lie. Not like that; not for the same reasons as that… that pervert._

**But you _are_ lying for the same reason. Your little love affair.**

Rika ignored the voice and began to remove the sheets from her wrists. She was so concentrated on getting dressed, she hadn't heard the soft footsteps heading toward her room. The door quietly opened just as Rika finished putting on her shirt. She whirled around to see her grandmother, standing in the doorway.

"I knew you were here" her grandmother whispered sadly. Rika couldn't seem to say anything. All she could do was look at her grandmother in shock.

"G-Grandma…?"

"I knew something was going on. You haven't been yourself lately" her grandmother said sweetly, entering the room.

"B-but… how…?"

"I'm not too old that I can't tell when my own granddaughter is acting strangely" she smiled.

"I'm sorry… I just…"

"Don't apologize, Rika. I know that you just don't want to worry us, but I want you to know that your mother and I are always here for you."

Rika looked away from her grandmother and finished putting her shirt on. She couldn't face the elderly woman. Not when she was as dirty as she was. "I guess" Rika mumbled. Suddenly, her grandmother put her hand on Rika's chin and turned Rika's head to face her.

"You're beautiful; inside and out. Don't you forget that, Rika" her grandmother said seriously. For some reason, that was the breaking point for Rika. She couldn't take it anymore. She finally let her tears fall as she embraced her grandmother. The elderly woman simply held her granddaughter and ran her fingers through the young girl's hair. Finally, after 3 days of holding it in, Rika cried.

* * *

**_CHAPTER END_**

That's the end of chapter 3, guys~ I hope it satisfied all your expectations cause it certainly took a little while to figure out which way I wanted to go with it. In the end, my hands just started typing on their own and I wasn't even thinking about it anymore o-o like I was in the zone. Anyway, hopefully the next chapter will come out sooner..? But somehow I doubt that x.x;

_Now here are some of my responses to my reviewers :D_

**Maxdon** (who changed their account to something else)- Thank you so much for keeping up with my story ^^ I'm going to read yours right after I post this message. I just want to let you (and everyone else) know that this story is NOT officially Rika-Takato, Rika-Henry, or Rika-Ryo yet. I haven't really decided on those three... Oh and yeah, I am going to introduce Ryo into the story too.. eventually . . Anyway, i just don't want anyone to get their hopes up for a pairing that I haven't decided yet... I'm just gonna write it and see where the story goes.

**GabyOgando-** Thank you so much, that was so nice of you ^^ I'm aspiring to be an author one day so its nice to hear from a complete stranger that I have talent. I hope you'll keep enjoying this story~

**John C **- heh, well thank you very much :D I'll do my best to keep it as awesomely brutal as possible. I even just watched episode 10 from Digimon Tamers for some inspiration. Icedevimon sure was a creep o.O anyway *cough* I hope you continue reading and reviewing~

**Porque Ella** (Maxdan) - I'm glad you liked it ^^ Chapter 4 will be coming soon... hopefully ^^;

**John C** (again) - lol don't we all just wanna just jump into the story and beat the hell outta him? Unfortunately guys like him last the longest v.v *sighz* But thank you so much for continuing with the story :3 Like I said before, hopefully I'll get the 4th chapter out by next weekend ^^; please continue enjoying the brutality and darkness~ :D

**AlternateDigimon** - Thank you! I try to go back and fix the mistakes when I catch them but x.x; i don't catch them all that often... Anyway, glad to have another reviewer ^^ hope you continue to enjoy the story~

Oh and i wanna thank all the people who have favorited my story and stuff! :3 i feel so special~ lol but seriously, thank you for the support! Oh! And if anyone finds any mistakes or spelling errors or something that doesn't make sense, please tell me! I want this to be a decent story and easy enough to read, so any constructive criticism is appreciated. Just don't flame; honestly, if you don't like the story i'd like to know why, not just "n00bz story sux 2 da max!" or something like that o-o


	4. Chapter 4: The Unfixable Hole

_Hey guys~ Sorry for posting this chapter so late D: I really wanted to get it done earlier, but I had a breakup with my boyfriend of two years and then I got sick with a sore throat and a runny nose x.x not to mention I had a little mini fight with the only friend I've ever been sure is a true friend cause I'm oversensitive and sometimes she's not sensitive enough ^^; but we made up… sorta.. it was never really 'declared' a fight and we didn't yell at each other or anything so when we 'made up' it was more like "It doesn't feel right not having a sister... so you're just stuck with me" and me saying "xD isn't it usually the other way around?" so… yeah… things a back to normal with me and her (if you can call it normal xD) Anyway, enough of the excuses! It's time for you to read the chapter ^^ so enjoy!_

* * *

CHAPTER 4

Rika woke up to a quiet morning for once. She turned her head to her clock and realized that she had woken up an hour early. Not able to fall back asleep, Rika got up to take a shower. As the scorching water hit her skin, she thought about what happened the previous night:

_When Rika's tears softened, she pulled away from her grandmother. She wiped away the last the tears from her eyes and turned away._

_"I'm sorry" she whispered simply._

_"For what, sweetie? Everyone cries."_

_"I don't" Rika stated firmly. Her grandmother's eyes softened at the comment._

_"I'm not quite sure what Dan did to you, Rika, but it was enough to upset you."_

_"Grandma-"_

_"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but if you need help, Rika, I'm always here and so is your mother."_

_Rika took a minute to let the words sink in. She turned to her grandmother with a determined face._

_"Please don't tell my mom, or anyone, about this" Rika pleaded._

_"Are you sure, Rika?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Alright, but if I see another scar on that beautiful face of yours, we're going to have to tell someone; okay?"_

_"Deal."_

_Her grandmother sighed and exited the room. Rika walked into the bathroom and took off her shirt to examine the cuts on her stomach. It was still bleeding a little, but she left it alone and entered the shower. However, the scolding water and furocious scrubbing didn't seem to be enought to clean the invisible filth off of herself. Afterwards, she simply fell asleep, not even caring if the wound on her stomach bled or not._

Rika finished scrubbing herself raw and exited the shower. She couldn't believe it was only Tuesday. She wanted so badly just to move past the issue and get on with life. If she had known what would happen that fateful Friday night, she would've gone a different way home. She would've even restrained herself from punching Macy.

"Rika! It's time to get up" her mother called out.

"Okay" Rika yelled back.

She gave one last look at the scar on her stomach that read "slut" before changing into her uniform; it was still a little raw from the previous night. Her bruises were fading and barely noticeable, but she snuck some make up on herself just in case. She put on her scarf and went into the kitchen to greet her mother and grandmother.

"Good morning, Rika" a cruelly familiar voice spoke.

"What is _**he **_doing here?" Rika questioned.

"Rika!" Rumiko flustered.

"What?"

"He's our guest and an adult so show some respect!"

"Respect? Why? He doesn't deserve it" Rika grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Dan, she just-"

"No, no; it's okay Rumiko. She'll come to respect me on her own" Dan interrupted.

Rumiko immediately began showering him with compliments on his maturity, but Rika knew the truth. He was threatening her, warning her that he would make her obey him. Rika glared at Dan and he stared coldly at her while Rumiko continued making a fuss, not noticing either of the two's deadly looks. Suddenly, an elderly voice broke the secret tension.

"Rika, here's some toast for breakfast. You better hurry off to school or you'll be late" her grandmother advised sweetly.

"Thanks, grandma. I'll see you later" Rika said, awkwardly waving her hand.

_Should I hug her…?_

Her grandmother nodded her head in farewell and Rika smiled. She knew that she wasn't really running late and her grandmother was just helping her out. Rika grabbed the toast and ran out the door. She put it in her mouth and munched on it as she rode to school on her bike. Unfortunately, luck was not on her side this week. As soon as she arrived at the school entrance, Rika was met by a group of four girls. Of course, at the head of the group was Macy, which caused Rika to sigh. However, she couldn't help but smirk at Macy's bandage-covered nose. Rika parked her bike and Macy stepped forward.

"Come back for more, Nonaka?"

"If I recall, it was _**me**_ who beat _**you**_, Macy" Rika stated.

"You may have won the battle, but not the war" Macy scowled.

"Whatever; I'm not in the mood" Rika stated as she shoved past Macy.

"Maki! Kyoko!"

On cue, two of the girls ran up to Rika and grabbed her arms, one each. Rika glared at them and the two struggled to keep a hold of her.

"Now, Nonaka, I'm going to ask you some questions. If you get them right, we'll let you go; but if you get them wrong… Well, let's just say that Nami here will correct you" Macy smirked. Rika spat at Macy's feet, immediately making the blonde frown. As if understanding her leader's sentiments, the girl named Nami stepped toward Rika menacingly.

"Question number one: what mistake did you make of Friday?" Macy asked with a hint of cruelty.

_I went the wrong way home at the wrong time…_

"I obviously didn't knock enough sense into you" Rika sneered.

"Wrong" Macy said simply.

A cold smile played on Macy's lips as Nami punched Rika in the face. It didn't hurt much, but it made the band-aid on her face fall off. Rika attempted to lunge at the girl, but the other two girls managed to barely keep her back.

"Is that the best you've got?" Rika asked, spitting out the small bit of blood from her mouth.

"Question number two: Why are we punishing you?" Macy asked, ignoring Rika's challenge.

"Because you hate to lose and _**I**_ beat _**you**_" Rika answered with a mischievous smile.

Nami pushed Rika onto her knees and the other two girls pushed her face against the concrete. Yet Rika still kept her rebellious smile which in turn made Macy furious. She knelt down next to Rika and pulled her head off the ground by grabbing her hair.

"What's one plus one, Rika? Can you answer that much, Nonaka?"

"Really now, Macy? You need someone else to answer that for you?" Rika retorted.

In pure rage, Macy slammed Rika's head back onto the ground, but due to the lack of strength, Rika's face remained barely scathed. Infuriated, Macy kicked Rika's stomach, causing Rika to tumble across the ground a bit. This last move, that shouldn't have affected Rika, hurt the most. She cringed in pain and held her stomach as her wound reopened. Blood slowly seeped into her shirt and showed onto her jacket. The four girls simply stood in shock and terror.

"Macy, what'd you do?" one of the girls whisper-yelled.

"Nothing! Nothing happened here, got it?" Macy snapped.

"O-okay, but w-what do we do?" another girl asked.

Before she could answer, the warning bell rang and students began to rush into the school building. No one, however, noticed Rika lying on the ground with a blood-stained shirt. She groaned in pain, holding her stomach tighter in hopes that the wound would close back up.

"Look, we'll just make up something to get the school nurse out here. Just let me do the talking" Macy stated with a slightly shaken voice. The other girls nodded in hasty agreement and the four rushed into the school. Rika simply lay there, waiting for the nurse to arrive. Surely the nurse could fix her wound. Suddenly, Rika's eyes shot wide open in realization.

_If the nurse finds me she'll see it..!_

**Just let them all see what a slut you really are.**

_No…_

Rika pulled herself off the ground and slowly walked away from the school. She couldn't let the nurse find her. If she did, she would read the scar and all sorts of questions would be raised. Rika wasn't confident in her ability to protect her mom from Dan in time if that were to happen. Rika stumbled into the alleyway that had started it all. She finally dropped to her knees in exhaustion. Unexpectedly, a dizzy spell came over Rika and her eyes began to droop. She leaned against the alley's wall and passed out without another word.

* * *

Rika awoke in a very unfamiliar place. The walls were white and a curtain separated her from the rest of the room. The bed she lay in was surprisingly tidy and even whiter than the walls. She noticed that she wasn't in her uniform anymore but a fresh pair of baggy pants and a hospital gown.

"Oh you're awake!"

Rika head quickly turned to the source of the voice. Beside her bed was a woman wearing a doctor's jacket and smiling politely. She was beautiful and rather young looking, but that didn't make Rika ease up any.

"Who are-"

"You can just call me Ms. Sarashi" the woman said sweetly.

"How did I get-"

"Ah, some boy brought you in, he looked about sixteen."

"Well _**why **_am I here then?" Rika asked, annoyed with the constant interruptions.

"You had a wound reopened; it was a rather peculiar one too" the nurse replied with a curious look.

Rika's eyes went wide and she attempted to get out of the bed, but a pain in her stomach stopped her. She noticed that her stomach was wrapped in gauze as she held it in agony. Her mind began to race with all sorts of thoughts of pain and panic when the doctor spoke again, interrupting her thoughts.

"Dear, how did you get that wound?" she asked.

"That's none of your concern" Rika replied, still recovering from the pain.

"Are you… still a… virgin?" Ms. Sarashi asked quietly.

"I-… no… no, I'm not" Rika answered rather sadly.

"Ah, I see."

"Wait, why does that even matter?" Rika asked, angry at herself for answering the doctor.

"Are you being bullied?"

"What? No, of course not!"

"Abused then?"

"I-… Why are you asking all these questions?"

The doctor sighed and looked away from Rika. It was if she was contemplating on whether to tell the fifteen-year-old or not. Suddenly, Ms. Sarashi looked up at Rika again.

"Look, you might not want to open up to me now, but if you find yourself in trouble or if you just want to talk, call me" Ms. Sarashi stated as she handed Rika a business card.

"Thanks, but I'm fine" Rika responded coldly.

"Just in case" the woman smiled.

Within a few minutes, Rika's clothes were returned to her, nice and clean, and she got changed. She left the clinic as soon as possible, refusing to give anyone any information at all. She then began to wander the streets. It was too early to go home, but she didn't want to go to school either. While Rika paced in the park, she ran into someone she hoped she'd never see again. It was the man who had been with Dan that horrible night that she had lost her innocence.

"Well, well, well; never thought I'd see you again" the man greeted as he walked over to Rika.

"And I thought I'd find _**you **_in a gutter somewhere" Rika retorted.

"Still have some spunk left, huh? I like that" he replied smugly.

"Good, cause you'll be kissing my fist in a minute."

"Hey there; let's not get too feisty now. I didn't have you, remember? Danny-boy did and boy did he have you. You two were at it for at least a hou-"

Rika interrupted the man's statement with a fist to the face. The man stepped back holding his nose in pain and uttering curses and profanities.

"Shit, bitch, what the hell did you do that for?"

"You deserve ten times worse than that" Rika seethed.

"Dan's gonna hear about this! I swear!"

"Go ahead; I'm not afraid of him" Rika bluffed. It took all she had to keep her legs from involuntarily shaking.

"Rika!"

Both Rika and the man turned their heads to see a brown-haired boy running toward them. The man stared in confusion, but Rika almost immediately recognized him.

_Ryo…_

"We'll see each other again. I'm _**sure**_ of it… princess" the man whispered in her ear. Upon hearing the nickname, Rika shuddered in faint remembrance of that awful night. Within seconds, the man was gone and Ryo was standing beside Rika.

"Who was that?"

"Dunno."

"Rika- Rika, look at me."

"I already told you; I don't want to talk to you."

"Rika… please" Ryo pleaded.

Rika finally gave in and turned to face Ryo. His face immediately brightened when their eyes met, causing Rika's heart to sink. She knew that she was worrying him and possibly even hurting him.

"Ryo…"

"I was worried when they wouldn't let me in to see you. When they finally let me go in, the doctor said you had left."

"What…?"

"At the clinic. When I first found you and saw the blood, I thought you were gonna die" Ryo explained.

"_**You're **_the one who brought me there?" Rika snapped.

"Well, yeah of course. Didn't they tell you?"

"You almost ruined my life!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The wound would've closed itself up; you didn't need to interfere" Rika angrily responded.

"Interfere? I practically _**saved**_ your life!"

"I never asked you to" Rika murmured. The two stood in awkward silence. Ryo looked like he wanted to say something, but his mouth remained shut. Rika turned her head away.

"Rika, just tell me what's wrong" Ryo pleaded.

"I-… I can't…"

"Why? Are you being threatened or something?"

Rika's head shot back toward Ryo as her eyes went wide with fright. Ryo was thoroughly surprise; he'd never seen her act like that.

"Rika…?"

"I… I have to go" Rika replied, bolting off. Ryo called out to her multiple times, but Rika kept running. She didn't have a destination; she just knew that she had to get away from Ryo.

_I almost told him! Why am I such an idiot?_

**Because you're weak; you need someone else to save you in order to survive.**

_I decided I'd handle this myself!_

**But you can't, can you?**

_I can… I will!_

**Pathetic**

Rika stopped running due to exhaustion. She looked around to make sure no one followed and then sat on the ground. As she caught her breath, a building caught her eye. She assumed it was a training ground of some sort from the dummies sticking out of the ground. Curious, Rika walked toward it.

"Can I help you?"

Rika whirled around in surprise. She was now face to face with a man who looked to be in his 50's in some tradition martial arts outfit. He had slicked back, dark brown hair that had started to gray and a chevron mustache. **(A/N: Refer to the martial arts teacher from episode 19 if you need a visual)**

"I was wondering what this place is. That's all" Rika answered.

"This, young girl, is a dojo" the man stated.

"A dojo? You mean for fighting and stuff?"

"I suppose you could say that;" the man chuckled, "We train in the martial arts called Tai Chi."

"I see…"

"Would you like to learn?"

Rika paused for a moment. Did she want to learn? Typically, she wouldn't bother with such a thing, but now things were different. She needed to get stronger.

"Yeah, I guess so" Rika replied coolly.

"Follow me then" the old man smiled.

He gestured for her follow as he entered the building. Rika was hesitant at first, not sure if she should trust the man, but ended up following him into the building anyway. It was a rather empty room with a single door on the side. She assumed it was his office. The man gestured for Rika to sit and she obeyed as he walked into that other room. A few minutes later, he reentered with a tray of two cups in his hand. He sat down on the floor with Rika and put the tray in between them.

"Here is some tea; I thought it might calm your nerves" the man stated.

"I'm already calm" Rika replied with a rather sharp tone. The old man simply gave her a questioning look in response and picked up his cup of tea.

"You may call me Sensei Che, Mister Che, or Master Che" he stated and took a sip of his tea.

"Rika."

"It's nice to meet you, Rika. Now tell me, why is it you wish to learn Tai Chi?"

"So that people like you could ask me stupid questions."

"Amusing; why do you _**really**_ want to learn?"

"To be stronger."

"Oh? And what do you wish to do with this strength?"

"I don't see how it's any of your business" Rika said as her eyes narrowed.

"If I am to teach you, I must know your reasons behind your actions" Che replied, sipping his tea once again.

"Fine. I want to get stronger so that I can protect myself and others" Rika grumbled.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, okay? Now what do I have to do in order to learn this?" Rika asked, losing her patience.

"I would be happy to have you here at the dojo as a new pupil, but it unfortunately requires more than a strong will" Che stated seriously.

"So what exactly do you want? Guns? Drugs?" Rika asked, secretly afraid that he would ask for herself as the payment.

"No, no" the man laughed, "Nothing like that."

"So then what is it?"

"I need to speak with your parents to get permission for your training. I won't lie; there is actually a small fee for the lessons as well" the man answered. Rika bent her head down slightly to let her bangs fall over her eyes.

"I can probably get the money somehow, but… do you _**need **_to speak with a parent?"

"Well, not necessarily a parent. Any guardian is fine; I apologize for assuming your parental status."

"No that's not it; I have a mom… it's just…"

"Hmm?"

"She doesn't really… like me doing these sorts of things. She thinks they're only for boys and doesn't want me, a girl, doing boy-ish things" Rika explained with a bit of anger.

"Do you have a father?" Che asked, but Rika shook her head.

"Haven't seen him since I was little."

"I see…"

The old man closed his eyes in thought as he drank some more of his tea. Rika raised her head back up so that her lilac eyes could be seen again and looked at Che curiously. Finally, he raised his head back up with open eyes and spoke.

"What if you were to get a job here? Would your mother be against that?"

"No, I guess not" Rika replied, curious of his plan.

"Then I will meet with her to discuss your job application."

"My what?" Rika asked with slight irritation.

"You could come here before class began to do some chores and then learn along with the rest of the students. It takes care of your payment and you will still get permission from your mom to come here" he explained. Rika's eyes lit up as she held back a smile.

"Okay; that'll work" Rika said, standing up.

"Have your mom come down here anytime to discuss it and we can get you started" Che told her as she began to exit the dojo.

"Will do, old man" Rika yelled back. She walked out with her usual "I don't care what you think" punk walk. However, she couldn't help but have a slight smile on her face. She was going to get stronger. Surprisingly enough, she was feeling much better after talking with the Sensei; more confident. The smile would've stayed on her face if it weren't for the school dismissal bell ringing in the distance.

_This is all Macy's fault…_

Sighing, Rika walked to the school and past the entrance gate. She walked past the crowds of students and got to her bike. Macy and her friends were nowhere to be found, however, all the students were staring at her and whispering.

_Great… Another stupid rumor… _

_Not that it makes any difference…_

Rika grabbed her bike and rode it out of the school without a word. She couldn't wait to get home and just listen to her music; it always let her block out the world. Finally, Rika arrived at the house and parked her bike. When she opened the door, however, she was face to face with her torturer, Dan.

"Your grandmother has had a heart attack."

* * *

**_CHAPTER END_**

_I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Sorry it took so long o.o anyway, I've already started on the next chapter and I guarantee it'll be out faster than this one (It's been like a month right? O.o) Anyway, here are my replies to my awesome reviewers~_

**Porque Ella -** xD yeah, I feel kinda bad giving the woman a heart attack... but who knows? Maybe the old lady will pull through...? Heh you'll just have to find out in the next chapter~

**John C**- Thank you so much! I was worried at first about writing something so dark... but in the end, I truly wanted to write about it. Dark stories are easier to get raw emotions out of, so I figured starting with a story that is easy to do that with would be the best. Hopefully one day my skills will be good enough that I can bring raw emotions out of light hearted stories too. Anyway, thank you for reviewing and for loving the dark edge on my story ^^

-To all those who haven't reviewed-

I wanna thank you for reading my story ^^ I hope you enjoy it even though its rather dark o.o; Oh and I'd like to suggest to all of my readers a story by Angel Lilith. It's her only story and unfortunately it has ended. I'm not gonna tell you the ending but let's just say it REALLY sad (brought me to tears T_T) Anyway, it's actually a pretty upbeat story and I laughed a lot through it. Even if you don't like the anime its written from, I really really suggest you read it because her writing skills are just WAY beyond mine. *cough* I guess that's it; I'll stop rambling on now. Keep looking out for chapter 5! :D


	5. Chapter 5: Plaster's Only Temporary

_Hey guys, I know I totally broke my promise… but just know that I had it written down WEEKS ago D: I just had a hard time of figuring out whether I should put in this one scene or not cause its kind of.. x.x well not for the weak hearted (or those with weak stomachs?). Anyway, I decided to just put it in but give a warning out before the scene so that those who don't want to read it don't have to._

_Oh and fanfiction certainly didn't help matters either! For 4 days straight I had an error that prevented me from updating my story D: so I emailed the support people and nobody responded! It was awful... but at least I got angry and upset enough to press the refresh button repeatedly like a caveman.. which seemed to fix the problem.. somehow o.o;_

_Well, I guess I'll stop my rambling and let you guys read your long awaited chapter 5!_

* * *

CHAPTER 5

Rika slipped on the black slacks and black turtleneck shirt that she had laid out. She brushed out her hair and left it down. It was the least she could do for her grandmother.

"Are you ready to go, Rika?" Rumiko asked softly.

Rika simply nodded and followed her mother out the door. The woman was wearing a black dress and a black sunhat. It was another horrible Friday for Rika.

"It'll be okay, Rumiko" Dan comforted as he held Rika's mother in his arms. As much as Rika hated him, she had to admit that he was helping her mother cope. For the past two weeks since her grandmother died, he had been comforting Rumiko and didn't bother with Rika. She didn't want to take comfort in the break of harassment, but she couldn't help but hope that Dan was done with her.

Finally, they arrived at the funeral home. There were a lot of people; mostly Rumiko's acquaintances. However, Takato, Henry, Jeri, Kazu and Kenta's families were also in attendance. The five friends quietly walked over to Rika.

"Hey Rika," Takato said sadly.

"Hey guys," Rika replied emotionlessly.

"How're you holding up?" Jeri asked softly.

"Fine, I guess."

"Man, Rika, you're so cool about this" Kazu blurted. Kenta quickly jabbed his friend with his elbow.

"What he meant was-"

"Whatever, I don't care" Rika interrupted and stalked off. As Kenta began chastising Kazu, Henry walked after Rika, who had gone out the door and into the hallway.

"Rika," Henry stated as she turned to face him.

"What do you want, Wong?" Rika asked, clearly annoyed.

"You're not alone, Rika. Last year my grandmother died too" Henry explained.

"You think you understand me? You think you're so smart, don't you? Well you're wrong! You will _**never**_ understand how I feel" Rika whispered harshly.

"Maybe not, but… I want to try."

Rika glared at Henry in response, but he held his ground. His strong, compassionate eyes were locked onto hers until she finally gave in. She sighed and diverted her eyes from Henry.

"My grandmother… She found out something she wasn't supposed to know. She didn't even know all of it, the whole truth, but she still died" Rika began.

"Something she shouldn't have known…?"

"I hadn't even told her; I didn't even have the chance to. She found out a small part of it on her own. I didn't tell her. I didn't even freaking tell her!"

"Rika? Rika, calm down."

Henry observed his friend with concern. She seemed to be in a trance, her eyes holding pure terror. Her body began shaking and she held herself as she uttered more words.

"I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, he would kill them if I did… but I didn't tell her anything! She shouldn't have died" Rika said as she held her head in pain.

"Who did? Rika, who told you?"

"I didn't tell her, so why did she die? I didn't tell her, I swear! I didn't tell anyone" Rika mumbled, tears forming in her eyes.

Her shaking legs couldn't hold any longer and she fell onto the floor, but the tears didn't fall from her cheeks. Henry knelt down to comfort her, placing his hand on her shoulder. She immediately scurried back against the wall with her face resembling a terrified child.

"No" Rika whimpered.

"Rika..?"

"Don't touch me!"

"Rika, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong" Henry reasoned with concern.

"I kept saying I didn't like it… I never asked for it. I hate it. But they don't listen. I don't like it, I don't… so please… stop" Rika pleaded with a tear managing to escape her eye and roll down her face.

Not being able to take it anymore, Henry wrapped his arms around her. She tried to squirm out of it, whimpering and pleading to be let go. He didn't let go of her, but he didn't do anything other than remain in the hug. After a minute or so, she calmed down, listening to the beat of his heart and feeling his warm arms wrapped around her. Suddenly, Rika realized that Henry was hugging her and her face became red with embarrassment.

"Umm… You can let go of me any time, Wong."

"Oh… right" Henry replied, blushing and removing his arms.

"I… I'm sorry about that" Rika murmured.

"You don't have to apologize, Rika. I just want to know what's going on. I want to help you" Henry replied.

"I can't tell you, Henry."

"I-... I guess I understand. If you ever feel like talking though, I'm always here for you" Henry reminded her.

"I can take care of myself just fine," Rika scoffed.

Henry simply smiled at her response and stood up. He knew she was putting on her tough act again and bring her walls back up, but that was just something Rika did. "Thank you" she whispered sincerely as he walked off. He gave a wave without turning around as he walked back toward the funeral room. Rika smiled gently at his gesture of "you're welcome". Within a minute, he went inside the room and out of her sight.

_He might know more than I want him to… but at least I know he cares…_

With that, Rika got up and went into the girls' bathroom. After quickly cleaning up her face, she ran back into the funeral room. She gave a sad glance to the elderly woman in the casket and bowed her head slightly. Then she sat down next to her mother and the funeral began.

* * *

Wednesday morning, a week and a half since the funeral, Rika woke up and ran into the bathroom. She had only been nauseous yesterday, but now she was throwing up in the toilet. As she kept on violently vomiting, her thoughts raced all over the place.

_First grandma dies and now this…_

**The old hag wasn't doing anything to help you anyway.**

_She tried to… but then…_

**She died. She died and it was your fault. **

_That's not true!_

**She found out about your little affair with Dan and died. It's entirely your fault.**

Rika shook her head to try to rid herself of her thoughts, but it continued to echo in her mind.

_It's all my fault…_

She threw up again as her mom entered the bathroom. Immediately, Rumiko yelped and knelt next to Rika, holding her hair back.

"Oh, Rika," Rumiko said in concern as Rika puked once more.

"What is _**wrong **_with me?" Rika rasped; her throat was dry and disgusting from vomiting.

"Oh, sweetie…"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine… I just need a drink to get the taste out and I can start getting ready for school."

"Rika, you are _**not **_fine! You're staying home today" Rumiko ordered.

"Whatever."

"Alright, I have to leave for a couple hours, but then I'll be back to take care of you" Rumiko explained.

"Okay," Rika stated as her mother placed her hand on her forehead.

"Hmm… no fever…"

"I told you I'm fine," Rika murmured.

"Stop arguing with me, Rika. You're not going to school. Now, do you want me to call Dan to watch you while I'm gone?"

"No!" Rika yelled out unintentionally.

"Rika, why don't you just give him a chance?"

"I would if he deserved one" Rika grumbled.

"Why do you hate him so much?" Rumiko pushed.

"Because he-… because…"

"Because he what?"

"Nothing," Rika replied, "nothing at all."

* * *

Another week went by and Dan still hadn't bothered Rika. Unfortunately, she was still vomiting and feeling nauseous, but she had managed to hide it from her mother. Still, Rika was starting to worry. Her thoughts continuously thought about what it might be. However, since her period was late by a few days, one possible reason stood out from the rest.

_Come on… You need to check, Rika…_

She paced back and forth in front of the 7 Eleven. The awful odor from the nearby garbage can and the gasoline was making her even more nauseous, but she couldn't get herself to walk into the store. Finally, Rika sighed and did what she thought she'd never do in a million years. She took out her cell phone and dialed a number. Rika Nonaka was going to ask for help.

"Hello?"

Rika held her breath before finally responding

"Hey Jeri…"

"Rika? Is something wrong?" a concerned Jeri asked over the phone.

"Can you… Can you come to the 7 Eleven near the Nishitetsu Inn?" **(Author Note: I totally did research JUST to find a stupid 7 Eleven around Rika's living area...)**

"Sure thing" Jeri agreed without any further questions. For that, Rika was thankful. She hung up and sat on the nearby bench to wait for her friend.

"Well hello again, princess."

Rika's head shot up to see Dan's sidekick; the one who had helped Dan in the alleyway.

"Oh, it's just you," Rika scoffed.

"You better watch your mouth, girly! Just because Dan's been too busy to deal with you, doesn't mean that your payback isn't coming," the man seethed.

"You don't scare me," Rika growled.

"Not yet, but I will soon enough," he responded with anger.

"Only in your dreams," Rika mocked.

"Rika!"

Rika turned her head to see Jeri running over her, waving her hand like a hyper little kid. The man, however, remained focused on Rika.

"Just wait; I'll have you begging for me to take you" he smirked.

"Yeah , right; you can't do anything without your 'master' Dan. You couldn't take me on your own and you know it" Rika taunted. The man simply scowled and stalked off. A few seconds later, Jeri reached Rika.

"Hey, so what did you need?" Jeri asked sweetly. Rika was surprised that Jeri hadn't asked about the man, but let it go as she looked at the girl's innocent face.

_I shouldn't bring her into this… She's so nice and innocent… I would just taint her_

**She's bound to be corrupted sometime… It doesn't matter.**

_That doesn't mean that she SHOULD be corrupted… or that I should be the one to taint her…_

**But you're too weak to go in alone. **

_I'm… too weak…_

"Rika?" Jeri asked again. She was truly concerned for her friend.

Unable to respond, Rika grabbed Jeri's arm and walked into the store. They walked past isle after isle until Rika finally stopped at one. Jeri looked around to see pads, tampons, pregnancy tests, and other womanly items. She looked back at Rika to see her nervous stare. Jeri followed the direction of Rika's stare and her eyes landed on the pregnancy tests.

"Rika…?"

"I… I can't… I can't buy it" Rika stated shakily, unable to meet Jeri's eyes.

Seeing her friend's fright, Jeri put on a brave face and grabbed one of the tests. She walked back to Rika and dragged her to the register. After quickly paying for it and ignoring the cashier's disgusted look, Jeri turned to Rika and handed her the test.

"Do you want to take it here?" she asked.

Rika simply nodded her head in response. Jeri gave a quick hug to her before Rika went into the bathroom. A couple minutes later, Rika exited the bathroom and held the test in her hand. They still had to wait a minute for the results to appear.

"Thanks" Rika murmured before looking at the test again.

Upon seeing the results, she dropped the test and it clattered on the floor. She held her stomach with one hand and covered her mouth in shock with the other. Rika started to shake. Jeri, predicting the result, picked up the test anyway. As she thought, the result was positive. Rika was pregnant. Jeri looked back up at Rika to see the poor girl frantically pacing.

"Umm… I hope you don't mind me asking… but who's the father?" Jeri asked as politely as she could. Rika shook her head "no".

"It's definitely not who you'd expect" she murmured.

"It's not… It's not Takato is it?" Jeri asked with a slight blush as she diverted her eyes.

"No! No, oh kami, no!" Rika yelled out.

_Although, I'd prefer it to be Takato's kid than that… that __**monst**__**er**... Hell, I'd rather have Kenta's baby than Dan's!_

"Then is it Henry's?"

Rika's face went red at the thought. She remembered the incident at the funeral, causing an even harsher blush. And she couldn't help but imagine a baby with dark blue hair. Of course, then she pictured goggle head's kid and even Ryo's too. She shook her head furiously.

"No; It's no one you know" Rika finally answered, still having a slight blush on her face.

"Are you going to keep it?" Jeri asked innocently.

Rika paused again in thought. She had always secretly wanted to be a mother; a better one than her own. However, she hadn't wanted to have one so soon and definitely not the way it happened. If the kid ended up looking like Dan, she didn't think she could handle it. Rika held her stomach again and stared at Jeri.

"I don't know" she softly responded.

After almost a half an hour of comforting from Jeri, the two said their goodbyes and Rika headed home. Upon opening the door, she heard Dan yelling at the television, most likely about some game. She heard another voice yelling as well, but she ignored it. She walked as quickly and quietly as she could to her room and turned to lock it. Before she could do so, however, Dan stepped in.

"What do you want?" Rika snapped.

"You of course" he whispered huskily in her ear.

Dan pushed her onto the floor and got on top of her like a cage. As he began sloppily kissing her, she pounded her fists against his chest. Dan growled at her resistance.

"Kouji! Get in here!"

After a few seconds of struggling with Dan, another man stepped into the room. It was the same man that harassed her earlier at the 7 Eleven; Dan's lackey. Dan gave her a swift jab to the stomach and stood up. Rika groaned in pain and briefly worried about the baby that was forming inside of her.

"Finally down where she belongs" Kouji smirked.

"Yeah, took me long enough" Dan complained.

"Ya, boss; what was keeping ya?"

"Had to take care of her mom first. Helping a woman when she's down can get you a long way. It was starting to get annoying being the nice guy, though" Dan explained.

"If you're tired of dealing with her, why don't you just force yourself on the chick like you usually do?" Kouji questioned. Rika scowled at the comment as she started to sit up.

"Well it keeps this little bitch on a leash, but it's also fun watching her squirm while her own mother falls for me _**willingly**_" Dan taunted.

Rika launched at him angrily and her fist connected with his face. Rather than become angry though, Dan simply chuckled. Kouji took this chance to pin Rika's arms on the wall above her head. She began kicking him and managed to get free of his grasp before he could even do anything.

"Dan, I thought you said this was easy" Kouji complained.

"It is if you do it right, wimp" Dan teased.

_**AUTHOR'S WARNING! A RAPE SCENE IS ABOUT TO START AND IS RELATIVELY DESCRIPTIVE. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ ABOUT IT, SCROLL DOWN UNTIL YOU SEE ANOTHER AUTHOR'S NOTE IN BOLD AND ITALIZED.**_

Rika gave Dan a glare as if daring him to try anything. Taking up the challenge, he stepped forward. Rika attempted a side kick, but he caught her foot and pulled it back, causing her to fall onto her back. He was immediately on top of her and gave Kouji a look. On cue, Kouji held Rika's arms above her head on the floor. Dan spread her legs with his hands and quickly tore off her pants. Rika squirmed. Kouji slapped her for the resistance and Dan began harshly nipping, kissing, and licking Rika's inner thighs. Rika bit her lip.

_Even after weeks of Tai Chi, he's still stronger… The gap hasn't closed a bit…_

Rika gasped as she felt a sudden breeze. She looked down to see Dan pulling off her underwear. She squirmed again to no avail and Kouji began slipping off her shirt. Dan took off his pants and boxers, looking at Rika with a smirk.

"Your mother won't be back until tomorrow, so I think I'll take it nice and slow for you this time, princess" He whispered huskily as he entered her.

"I think she likes it" Kouji chuckled as Rika's breath became rapid.

"Like a bitch in heat" Dan laughed. Rika just wanted it to end already. Dan thrusted deeper.

"Damn, I want some action" Kouji said as he licked his lips.

Rika closed her eyes and turned her head in disgust as Dan continued and Kouji began playing with her breast with his free hand. To Rika's relief, Dan finally got out of her. However, her hope of being done was shattered when Dan pounded into her again. Rika yelled out in sheer pain before Kouji covered her mouth with his own. She thrashed about as best she could, but it was only causing her more pain and Dan wasn't slowing down. Tears brimmed her eyes.

"That's right, bitch, I _**own**_ you. I can do whatever I want with you whenever I want" Dan announced maniacally. He clutched his hands so tightly on her hips that they began to bruise.

"Stop it" Rika pleaded as Kouji moved his mouth to her breast. After a few more minutes, Dan finally exited her and released over her body.

"Does this mean I get a turn this time?" Kouji asked excitedly.

Rika's eyes shot open just in time to see Dan nod with an evil smirk. The two men switched places and Rika tried to get up, but was only pushed back down. She was in so much pain, yet they were going to do it again. Kouji didn't delay as he quickly and painfully entered her. He didn't have as much stamina as Dan so it didn't take long for him to finally release inside. After what seemed like hours of hell, the two men released inside of her, cleaned up, and got dressed.

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE! OKAY T_T IT'S OVER… TO SUM IT ALL UP FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T READ THE SCENE, RIKA WAS RAPED AGAIN AND THAT'S ALL YA NEED TO KNOW._**

Rika rolled onto her side with silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She listened to her tormentors' laughs as they walked out of her room. She slowly got onto her feet and shakily limped into her bathroom. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her hair was disheveled.

"I look almost as bad as that first night" Rika murmured.

Her stomach still held the scar that read "slut" and her pelvic area was covered in bruises, blood, and semen. Of course her hips were bruised badly as well and most of her body had random splatters of the deed's evidence. Rika looked away from her body in disgust at both herself and the men that had done this to her. She stepped into the shower, turned on the hot water, and began scrubbing furiously.

_Why won't it come off? Why doesn't it ever come off?_

**Because you're a dirty slut.**

**A worthless whore.**

"So dirty" Rika mumbled, scrubbing herself raw.

She closed her eyes as she continued to scrub as hard as she could. She switched the heat on so high that she felt like she was being boiled alive. But Rika didn't mind. She stayed like that for over an hour before she finally turned off the water. Rika slid down onto the shower floor and simply cried. She thought about the first night she was raped. She thought about what had just happened in her room. She thought about the life that was growing inside of her. She thought about her grandmother. And she cried it all out.

* * *

**_CHAPTER END_**

_Ahhhh that was so hard to write! T_T I don't even know if it was good (or would it be bad..?) but it was sure tough to write the rape scene D: Sometimes I wonder if I'm even really writing the story. It's almost like the story just possesses me and goes "You must write it! Write it all!" *cough* Anyway... I'm sorry again about breaking my promise to post this up sooner than it took me to post the last chapter, but I was just so conflicted! Please review!_

_Oh and I just want to give a shout out of thanks to those who have favorited my story or put it on their alert list ^^ You guys make my day. Of course, all my reviewers are awesome too :3 every time I come on to update and post a chapter, I read the comments all over again. It's awesome to hear that my story is good, even though its really uber dark x.x like seriously, this thing is brutal..._

_UPDATE: I fixed up that one scene again to make it less... brutal I guess. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I decided to just change it after all. So the rape scene has been toned down a tad. Hope that doesn't mess people up too much.._


	6. Chapter 6: Falling Down

_Hey people! I'm so glad I'm back on track with this story… was really having some trouble there for awhile… and it might just be me, but I feel like my chapters seem longer on Microsoft Word when I'm writing them than when I see them on here… oh well I guess… o-o Anyway, enough of my ranting, onto chapter 6!_

* * *

CHAPTER 6

Rika walked down the busy sidewalk with her headphones resting around her neck. Suddenly, she felt a chill that made her feel like someone was watching her. She quickly turned around in panic and frantically looked around, but she saw no one.

"Rika!"

Rika whipped around in utter fright, only to see Takato jogging toward her. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh it's just you, goggle-head," Rika stated as nonchalantly as possible.

"What's wrong? You seem kind of jumpy" Takato commented with concern.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're just imagining things," she scoffed. He simply shrugged and the two began walking in silence. Then Takato turned his head toward her for conversation.

"Sooo… I was talking to Jeri yesterday," Takato started.

"So?" Rika asked, slightly annoyed by his need to talk.

"Well while we were talking, she got a call from you" Takato continued nervously.

"And?" Rika asked, faking annoyance to cover up the nervousness creeping in.

"And she ran off. Later, she called back to apologize and I asked her what you had wanted, but she wouldn't tell me. I kept bugging her and bugging her until she finally told me…"

"Takato-"

"Rika, are you pregnant?"

He stared at her so seriously as she came to a stop and fell silent. Without warning, she slammed Takato into the nearby wall next to the alleyway, pinning his shoulders against it with her hands.

"Shut up! I'm not! I'm not pregnant, I'm not a slut, I'm not a whore! I don't… I don't have… a living being inside of me" Rika yelled. Ignoring the staring stander-bys, Takato was about to yell back at her, but he noticed her shaking hands.

"Rika…"

Rika removed her hands and held herself as she continued shaking. She diverted her eyes to the ground so that she wouldn't have to look at Takato's eyes or expression. She began speaking again, this time in a quieter voice.

"I'm not… I'm not pregnant… I wasn't… wasn't r-"

Rika cut off her sentence and ran into the alleyway to puke. As she continued vomiting, Takato stared at her in disbelief and helplessness. This wasn't the Rika he knew; this was a pale and fragile shell of his friend. He reached his hand out to comfort her, but then pulled it back to his side. He felt that just even touching her would cause her to break. So he did the only thing he could think of. He took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Jeri? I need you to come here… Rika needs help…"

* * *

Rika sat nervously on the flower-print bed. She shifted her eyes back and forth from Takato and Jeri. She wasn't sure how to act or what to do. By the time she had finished puking in the alleyway, the two of them were suddenly dragging her off to Jeri's house. She didn't know what to expect. Finally, Jeri spoke up.

"Rika, you should go to a doctor," she stated firmly.

"No," Rika stubbornly replied.

"Rika-"

"Shut up, goggle-head," Rika glared.

"I know you're not sure about keeping it or not, but you should at least see a doctor in the mean time" Jeri insisted.

"No; no doctors!"

"Rika, you need to get yourself checked," Jeri pleaded.

"Maybe her boyfriend that knocked her up could convince her" Takato grumbled.

"Takato!" Jeri yelled in disbelief.

The two began bickering as Rika sat there, disgusted. She couldn't believe that her own friends thought she had stupidly done it with some random guy willingly. Granted, she never told them that she was raped, but they hadn't even asked her; they just assumed.

"He's not my boyfriend" Rika spoke up as she got off the bed.

"Rika?"

"I'm leaving" Rika stated angrily, walking out the door as the two stood there dumbfounded.

Once she got out of the house she kept running until she was out of the neighborhood. She reached a rather empty sidewalk and slowed down to a walk. She slammed her fist against the nearest building's wall.

_Why? I should've just gotten that stupid test by myself._

**But you were too weak. Too cowardly.**

_I'll just get stronger then!_

**That's impossible for a dirty slut like you.**

Rika shook her head and continued walking. She didn't want to dwell on such thoughts or put herself down. While her mind raced with conflicting emotions, she didn't notice the person in front of her and bumped right into him.

"Sorry" she mumbled and continued on.

"Rika?"

Rika stopped in her tracks. It was definitely a male voice, but for some reason she could no longer differentiate Dan's voice from other men's voices.

_"I'll take it nice and slow for you this time, princess"_

Rika shuddered at the words echoing in her head. As much as she wanted to run though, she couldn't move. She was paralyzed there with her eyes wide and her legs shaking. Only when the person walked in front of her did she break out of the trance.

"Ryo…?"

She could have fallen on her knees and cried she was so happy and relieved that it wasn't really Dan. Briefly, Rika cursed herself for her cowardice and fear of Dan.

"Hey, I know you didn't want to talk to me before and its almost 2:00, but do you wanna go get some lunch with me?" Ryo asked with a sheepish grin.

Before, Rika would have rejected him without a second thought. However, now, she wasn't so sure. Her only other options were to go home or to aimlessly walk around alone; neither sounded too good.

"Whatever, but you're paying" Rika finally answered.

Ryo's voice brightened at her response and he dragged her down the street. He pulled her into the nearest café and the waitress quickly sat them at a table. After she handed them their menus and eating utensils, she swiftly went on her way.

"Do you see anything you like?" Ryo asked.

"I'll probably have the triple burger with a side of fries and a milkshake… and a salad too I guess" Rika mused.

"Woah; I always knew you weren't a small eater like other girls, but you've never had such a big appetite before" Ryo exclaimed.

"Well that was before I got pr-… umm sick" Rika mumbled.

"Aww that sucks; what were you sick with?"

"Vomitting," Rika replied bluntly and vaguely.

"Oh…"

The waitress came by and the two ordered their meals, pretending not to notice the waitress' expression when Rika ordered. A few more silent minutes passed as they sat there awkwardly. The silence was finally broken by a commotion coming from the front of the café. Rika turned her head to see a worried Jeri and an angry Takato arguing with the host. Unfortunately, Takato just so happened to meet his eyes with hers and stomped toward Rika's table.

"Oh great" Rika groaned as she turned back to Ryo.

"What?" Ryo asked innocently. She didn't have time to answer though, because Takato arrived at the table with Jeri following closely behind. She gave an apologetic look to Rika.

"So it was you, Ryo! I didn't think you were that sort of guy, but I guess I was wrong!" Takato fumed.

"What are you talking about?" Ryo asked, obviously confused.

"Takato, don't-"

"Rika, you didn't tell him?" Takato asked, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"It's not-"

"No, Rika. It **is** important and it **does** involve him," Takato interrupted again. Rika could only cradle her forehead in her hands as she waited for her secret to be told. She felt like dying.

"Okay, what's going on?" Ryo asked, becoming annoyed.

"You should know; **you're **the one who knocked her up" Takato spat.

"Takato, you really shouldn't say it like that" Jeri sighed.

Ryo stood there, wide-eyed and shocked. He turned his head to Rika for an answer. She had her arms folded across her stomach and her eyes were glued to the nearby window, unable to look anyone in the eyes.

"Is that true, Rika? You're pregnant?" Ryo questioned with pure disbelief in his voice. However, Rika wouldn't, no, **couldn't** answer him.

"Ryo-" Jeri started before Ryo raised his voice.

"Answer me, Rika!"

"It's none of your damn business" Rika finally snapped, standing up out of her seat.

"Of course it is! We're friends, aren't we?" Ryo asked, exasperated.

"Maybe, but it's still nothing you need to know!" Rika yelled back. A few seconds of silence followed her words. By now, most of the café's costumers and staff had turned their attention to the teens' conversation.

"Who's the father?" Ryo quietly asked, breaking the silence.

"It's none of your-"

"Rika, just tell me! Who got you pregnant?" Ryo demanded. This earned a shocked look from Takato, who had thought that it was Ryo who had gotten Rika pregnant.

"Just drop it, Ryo" Rika half-pleaded, half-demanded.

"Dammit, Rika, who'd you have sex with?"

"No one!" Rika yelled, becoming angry herself.

"You don't just get pregnant by doing nothing, Rika" Ryo retorted.

"Just leave me alone" Rika hissed, beginning to walk to the café exit.

Ryo followed her and grabbed her arm to pull her to a stop. In response, she gave him a hard kick to the stomach, causing him to let her go and hold his stomach in pain.

"Rika, wait!" he called out, still clutching his stomach. She just kept running though, praying that no one would follow her.

By the time Rika reached her house, it was almost 4:00 in the afternoon. She may have been tired, but she wasn't clueless. She knew that just because the house lights were off, it didn't mean that Dan wasn't there. As if on cue, Rika felt someone breathing on her neck. Refusing to just stand there, she whipped around and jumped back, earning a chuckle from Dan.

"Where've you been all day, princess?" Dan asked with fake sweetness laced with malice. Rika flinched slightly at the nickname.

"None of your business" Rika coldly replied.

"Oh, but it **is** my business. You're mom called; she has to stay another day, so for now I'm your guardian" Dan smirked.

Rika's heart sank and she suddenly felt that she'd rather be interrogated by Ryo than be there with Dan. She started to back away, but Dan quickly grabbed her by the wrist and began dragging her toward the house. She struggled and tried to pull away from his grasp, but it was no use.

"Stop it! Stop it, please!" Rika yelled, surprised by her own desperateness. Dan turned around to face her, but still held onto her wrist tightly.

"I'll make you a deal, princess. If you be quiet and just serve me and my friends some drinks, I won't have fun with you in bed tonight" Dan whispered with cold eyes.

As much as she didn't want to give into his demands, Rika didn't want to repeat last night. So she sadly nodded and walked into the house with Dan. He sat on the couch and flipped on the television after ordering Rika to cook dinner for five people. As soon as she finished, the door bell rang. Dan got up and answered the door and within a few minutes, Dan and three other men were on the couch yelling at whatever game was on the television.

"At least I'll be able to sleep tonight" Rika sighed as she put the food on plates.

She passed out the plates without much trouble. One of the men had grabbed her butt, but Rika effectively glared at the man and continued on. After she was done, she grabbed her plate and started to head toward her room. However, Dan called her back.

"Hey, whore, get us some beer" Dan ordered as his friends chuckled.

Although she didn't appreciate the comment, she gave the guys their drinks without comment. Being called names was far better than being raped again. She grabbed her plate and went into her room without further delay.

After finishing her meal, she laid down on her bed. Just when she thought she could fall asleep, Dan yelled out for her again. Sighing, Rika got up and went into the other room to see what Dan wanted. She walked in to see the guys handing Dan wads of cash and she started to get nervous. She wondered briefly if he was selling drugs or something else illegal to the other guys.

"What do you want?" Rika asked cautiously.

"Ah there you are, princess" Dan smirked, clearly up to something.

"What do you want?" Rika asked again, this time more firmly.

"Well, I was talking with my buddies here about how much fun me and you had last night. They got so excited when I told them about how addicting your moans were that they decided they wanted to give it a try themselves" Dan replied with his cold, malicious smile.

Rika quickly took some steps back as the three unknown men began closing in on her. She gave a look of both anger and desperateness to Dan.

"You said I wouldn't have to tonight! We had a deal" Rika yelled as two of the guys gripped onto her arms.  
"I said that **I** wouldn't have fun with you tonight; I didn't say that I wouldn't let others enjoy you" Dan mocked.

As the men dragged her out of the room, Rika glared at Dan with all the hate she could muster. His cold smile simply became bigger and tears began forming in Rika's eyes.

"Dan!" she yelled one more time angrily.

"Nighty night, princess" he laughed.

One of the three men closed the door and carried her off to her bedroom. Though fear gripped her heart, Rika didn't let her tears fall. Even if she couldn't hold back her screams, yells, and cries, she would not show them her tears. That was what she had promised herself.

* * *

Rika woke up in the corner of her room, curled up in a ball. When she tried to move, she could only feel pain so she stayed in that position for a while. She looked at her room. It was a mess, sheets and pillows thrown everywhere with dried blood, her blood, stained on them. Rika wanted to cry, but she found no tears. She figured she used them all up when she cried herself to sleep last night.

Mustering what strength she could, Rika sat up and leaned on the wall. She wasn't sure what she should do with it all, or if she should even do anything with it. Maybe if she left it like that, her mom would come in and everything would be fixed. They would get away from Dan and sue him, if not kill him, and maybe then she could move on with her life. Yet, Rika knew that wouldn't happen; Dan wouldn't let it. And even if her mother did walk in on the scene, she would probably think that she had done it willingly, that she was just a slut who slept around with any guy she met. At these thoughts, Rika could feel tears falls down her face again.

___I'm so stupid… I shouldn't have trusted him… I shouldn't have gone home… I shouldn't have gone by that alleyway that night!_

After a few minutes, Rika wiped away her tears and cleared up her sniffling. Then her door opened. Fear immediately was shown in her eyes and she held herself as closely as she could. Dan stepped in.

"Wow, what a party you had last night, you little whore" Dan chuckled. Rather than glare at him like she usually would, Rika just pushed her back even more against the wall, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

"L-leave me alone" she rasped, disgusted at her own weakness.

"Well, if you keep being a good little slut, maybe I'll start to go easy on you. Hey, maybe you'll even start to beg me for it" Dan mocked.

Rika simply covered her ears with her hands. But Dan wouldn't allow that. He walked up to her, squatted down, and pulled her hands down. As he leaned his mouth toward her ear, she began to shake terribly.

"I **own** you. You're my property; just a thing to be used and sold. I can use you however I want, whenever I want. Don't you forget that," Dan whispered.

Laughing at her terrified form, Dan stood back up. He picked up everything with any trace of the previous night, making dirty comments here and there. Finally, he left her room and closed the door. It took a few minutes, but Rika finally was able to calm herself down.

She slowly and painfully got herself up and limped into the bathroom. She didn't even bother looking at the mirror. She didn't want to see her reflection and she didn't want to remember the previous night. She was in so much pain that her mind couldn't function. Rika got into the shower and collapsed on its floor. Due to the impact, a razor fell off the shower's shelf and onto her arm. It hurt for a few seconds and started to bleed, but the pain soon subsided. Rika stared at the cut in fascination.

_It feels so… calming… like all my troubles and pain are flowing out of me through the blood…_

Rika simply laid there for a few minutes, feeling the best she had in weeks. Yet, the feeling soon faded away and the cut closed up. Rika frowned."No, I don't want it to end yet" she complained with a weak voice. She grabbed the fallen razor and made a cut right next to the previous. This time, it hadn't hurt at all. All she could feel was pure bliss. Suddenly, a voice brought her back into reality.

"Rika! I'm home!"

Rika quietly growled at the interruption. She had wanted to lie there for a little longer, but her mother required her attention. Rika struggled to stand up and turned on the shower. She weakly scrubbed away the dry blood, however, it was all the strength she could muster. She was too sore and too exhausted to scrub her skin raw as she had in the past. Rika frowned again at this, yet she knew that even if she had scrubbed her skin harder, she would still feel dirty.

"Rika!" her mother called from outside the bathroom.

"I'm in the shower" Rika managed to rasp out. Her voice was weak from the yelling and screaming she had done.

"Okay… Well, Dan told me you weren't feeling too well yesterday and you threw up all over your bed. I just wanted to make sure you were okay" Rumiko explained from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Rika weakly responded.

She looked down at her stomach and put her hand over it. She still had the "slut" scar, but now there was something important there; something living and breathing. She found it both terrifying and calming at the same time. Although there was a living being in there, Rika supposed that she wouldn't have been able to tell if she hadn't gotten the pregnancy test.

"Alright, honey, tell me if you need anything. And you don't have to go to school today, so don't force yourself" Rumiko called out before exiting Rika's bedroom. Now the only sound Rika heard were the water drops from the shower and the beat of her own heart.

"What am I going to do?" Rika asked herself, not knowing the answer.

* * *

_____**CHAPTER END **_

___Aaaaahhh T_T I'm sorry Rika! Gosh, I'm such a bad person D: but what must be done, must be done I guess v.v Anyway… I can't believe I finished this chapter so quickly after the last one o-o I feel so accomplished… I hope it makes up for breaking my promise on the last chapter… I think Ryo is probably OOC, but I'm lazy and didn't feel like looking for and watching the Digimon episodes he was in, sooooo I kind of just made it up as I went. Takato might also be a little OOC in this cause he was getting really angry… Imma blame it on his puberty… Oh! And PLEAAASSEE review and tell me your opinion!_

___Replies for my Reviewers~_

**John C -** _Yeah it is way cruel, but unfortunately some people really have to go through this stuff. I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible, which is hard considering I've never been in a situation even close to Rika's. I really do hope you can continue to read it to the end though! I can't say how close or far away that ending is, but there is gonna be some light on the way. And I totally could picture Renamon ripping this guy apart, she would do it in a heartbeat if she was there._


	7. Chapter 7: Pounding the Wall

_**HELLO! Long time no see, right? A bunch of you are probably either pissed or not reading this anymore… x.x; but! Enough of that. Just go ahead this waaaaaayy overdue chapter.**_

* * *

Chapter 7

Rika walked into the school with a sigh. She had only missed two days of school for her 'illness', but something had her nervous.

_Is it because of my breakdown on Monday..?_

**Weak.**

_It doesn't matter now anyway.. I'm back to normal. I'm strong._

**Pathetic.**

_I'm strong now.. I won't break again.._

**You're already broken.**

Rika shook her head and opened the classroom door. Even though school hadn't started and the teacher wasn't in the room, all of Rika's classmates were strangely quiet. She walked across the room and to the back, toward her desk by the window. Rika heard Macy and her friends snickering and knew that something was up. When she reached her desk, she saw that degrading, derogatory terms had been carved and written onto it. Most of the comments implied that Rika was easy and slept around a lot. Yet, Rika would not let any emotions show on her face; if she did, they would win.

"What's wrong, Nonaka? Aren't you gonna deny it?"Macy mocked.

"Why bother telling the truth to someone who only hears lies?" Rika retorted.

A couple of the classmates let out small bits of laughter and Rika smirked. She knew that she had gotten Macy mad. Before the girl could respond to her though, the bell rang and the teacher slid into the classroom. Rika sat in her seat and looked out the window to distract herself.

"Okay, class, let's get started. Open your books to page 249" the teacher announced.

* * *

_Finally, the last period of the day…_

Rika walked into the girls' locker room and unlocked her locker. She heard Macy and her friends giggling and immediately knew that Macy had messed with something again. With a sigh, Rika opened her locker. Her sneakers were worn out, her shirt had insults written all over it, and her shorts now looked like thongs. Rika pulled out her 'shorts' and Macy's group burst out laughing.

"Wow, what a fashion statement, Nonaka" Macy taunted.

Rika simply ignored the statement and tossed the torn shorts into the trashcan. She proceeded to turn her gym shirt inside out and put on her sneakers. Macy frowned at this, but left with her friends all the same. Now that the other girls were gone, Rika changed into her gym shirt, happy that none of the insults had bled through the inside of her shirt. She then proceeded to leave the locker room and jogged out onto the field where the rest of the class was waiting. The gym teacher gave her a funny look.

"Nonaka? What are you doing in your skirt still? And why is your shirt tag sticking out? Did you put it on wrong?" the teacher inquired.

"My shorts are missing and there's no rule against having your shirt inside out" Rika replied simply.

"I suppose there isn't... Alright, but you have to still keep up with everyone else and no complaints" the teacher explained.

"Fine" Rika agreed.

_This is my favorite class and I'm not gonna let Macy ruin it…_

They all had to stretch first, so everyone got into pairs. Unfortunately, there was an extra person which, of course, was Rika. She did her stretches by herself, but began having trouble due to the pain from Sunday. She refused to let it show on her face though. This became more difficult since it was hard not to overhear Macy's gossip.

"Look at her; even when she's just doing stretches she acts like a slut," Macy said with a disgusted expression.

"I guess getting pregnant wasn't enough for her" Maki scoffed.

Rika's eyes went wide and she turned her head toward the now-laughing friends. She didn't understand how they knew her secret. So she stopped doing her stretches and walked over to the standing Macy. Grabbing her by the shoulders, Rika glared at her with a mixture of fear, shame, and anger.

"Who told you that?" Rika asked seriously.

"Oh, did we strike a nerve, Nonaka?" Macy mocked. Rika tightened her grip on Macy's shoulders and shook her a bit.

"Shut up and just answer my question, Macy," Rika practically growled, causing Macy's eyes to widen in slight fear.

"K-Kyoko heard you and some other kids arguing about it in a cafe over the weekend" Macy answered nervously.

Their classmates began whispering furiously and the gym teacher started jogging over. Rika let go of Macy, too shocked by the revelation that almost everyone in school knew her secret. Macy quickly backed away from Rika and toward her friends. Rika's world began to spin and she stumbled backwards, holding her head with one hand.

"Nonaka? What was that about? Nonaka..? Rika Nonaka?"

Rika's vision began to fade out as she felt her body thump onto the ground. She faintly heard her teacher's calls, but those soon began to fade as she met black silence.

* * *

…_Where am I..?_

Rika opened her eyes to complete darkness that enveloped everything. She stood up and looked around, but the only thing she could see was herself.

"…_**Rika"**_

"_Who's there?"_

"_**Rika…"**_

"_Who are you..?"_

"_**Rika."**_

The voice was calling out sweetly, but somehow Rika knew it wasn't genuine. The gentle voice kept calling her name and it only made her more nervous; more scared.

"_Show yourself!"_

"_**Let's have some fun, princess."**_

Rika's eyes widened in recognition as Dan stepped in front of her, as if out of thin air. His malicious smile crept up his face and his eyes gleamed with selfish lust. Rika jumped back in an attempt to escape him, but he only chuckled as if her fate had already been decided long ago.

"_Stay away!"_

"_**You know you liked it…"**_

"_Shut up! You know nothing!"_

"_**My rough hands on your every curve… My mouth on every inch… My-"**_

"_Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!"_

Rika clutched her head with her hands, shaking her head in denial of his claims. This only made him chuckle more and his echoing laughter filled the dark abyss. Rika continued backing up, trying to get as far away from Dan as possible.

"_**You can't escape me… I own you, remember?"**_

Hands erupted from the shadowy ground beneath Rika, grabbing and tugging at her from head to toe. She tried her best to pull out of the faceless people's grasps, but more continued crawling out of the ground and clutching onto her. It was if they were trying to pull her under with them. Before Rika even realized it, Dan was in front of her again, licking his lips.

"_**You're my property; just a thing to be used and sold."**_

Dan grabbed onto her wrists tightly and suddenly a large burst of pain ran through Rika, making her unable to stand any longer. The unseen men continued pulling her down until she was completely flat on the ground. Faceless men began appearing all around her, standing and looking down at her with the same smiles as Dan's; the same looks in their eyes.

"_**Slut."**_

"_**Whore."**_

"_**Bitch."**_

They all continued whispering these slanders as Dan took his shirt off and put himself on top of her. Her body squirmed and her eyes pleaded for it all to stop. The shadows continued chanting and Dan's smile crept up again, as if he was reveling in her misery. He leaned his head down and began giving Rika sloppy kisses while murmuring things in her ear.

"_**No one is coming for you…I own you… you're broken…no one else would ever want you if they knew the truth… My property to be used and sold as I please.."**_

"_Stop! Stop it! Please! STOP!" _

Rika shot up from the bed, breathing heavily. She looked around in panic and confusion before suddenly realizing that she was in the nurse's office. The nurse shoved the small curtain aside and looked at Rika with grave concern.

_So it was just a dream… just a nightmare…_

"Are you alright, Ms. Nonaka?" the nurse asked gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Rika managed to respond emotionlessly.

"I heard you scream so… are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes, I'm completely fine" Rika answered, this time with more annoyance.

"Oh, Rika!"

Rika turned her head to see her mom rushing into the room. She immediately hugged her daughter, obviously worried. The nurse sighed and waited for Rumiko to release Rika before speaking again.

"I told your mother that it wasn't necessary to come, but she was concerned" the nurse explained.

"Yeah, I got that" Rika grumbled.

"Anyway, you passed out during your gym class; do you remember anything?"

"No" Rika lied.

"Also… your gym uniform…"

Rika eyes shot down to her clothes, noticing that her regular school shirt and jacket had been put back on for her. She could only pray that the nurse hadn't accidently seen the bruises that lied right below her skirt line. She shot her eyes back at the nurse who was starting to fidget.

"What about her gym uniform?" Rumiko asked cluelessly.

"Well… her gym shorts had apparently gone missing earlier, before she went outside, but it's her shirt I'm more concerned about" the nurse continued nervously.

"Why?" Rumiko asked, becoming concerned.

"It has writing all over it… and let's just say that what it says isn't very nice" the nurse spoke shyly.

"What? What's this about, Rika?"

_Great… now she's turning to me…_

"It's just a stupid joke, nothing else" Rika replied nonchalantly.

"Just a stupid joke? This could be considered bullying, Rika!" the nurse piped up. Rika rolled her eyes as the nurse pulled out the shirt from the nearby drawer. Her mother gasped. Rika was really starting to hate life.

"What..? What is this, Rika? Have the other kids been bullying you this whole time?" Rumiko rambled.

"No, mother, I'm not being bullied" Rika replied with annoyance.

"Then what do you call this?" Rumiko demanded, gesturing to the shirt.

"It's just a stupid bet I made, that's all" Rika quickly lied.

"Bet?" the nurse questioned.

"Someone said I couldn't go a day being teased so we made a stupid bet and got the whole class in on it. That's it, it's no big deal" Rika explained.

"No big deal? No big deal? Rika, you could've been really hurt!" Rumiko yelled, exasperated.

"But I wasn't."

"Rika…"

"So can I go now?" Rika asked the nurse.

"Not quite, I need to speak with you about something; in private" the nurse stated firmly.

"I get it, I get it. I'll leave now" Rumiko sighed.

"You can just head home; I'll be there later" Rika added. Rumiko simply gave her daughter a look before sighing and exiting. Rika turned to the nurse.

"Now tell me what's really going on" the nurse said.

"What do you mean? I already did" Rika responded with slight harshness.

"Rika, I know that was a lie. I saw the scar on your stomach."

_Crap. I forgot about that…_

**Looks like you're busted, slut.**

_Shut up._

"So?" Rika bluffed.

"It looks old; the bullying didn't just start today, did it?" the nurse asked with pity in her eyes.

"I told you I wasn't bullied" Rika stubbornly answered.

"Rika-"

"I swear, no one's touched me."

"Then… you did this yourself?" the nurse asked with grave concern.

"Of course not! That would be stupid!"

"You're contradicting yourself, Rika. If nobody gave it to you and you didn't give it to yourself, then how did you get it?" the nurse questioned.

"Look, I have to get home. Goodbye, Ms. Sanako" Rika scowled.

Without giving the nurse a chance to respond, Rika left the health office and ran down the hallway. She heard the nurse call for her a few times, but Rika continued running out of the school. As she ran down the street, she bumped into someone.

"Rika?"

_Great… Who is it this time?_

"Henry?" Rika asked as she looked up.

"You're in quite the rush. Late for something?" Henry asked curiously.

"None of your business" Rika answered swiftly as she began walking past him.

"Hey, wait up. Where are you going? I could walk you there" Henry suggested, following Rika.

"Look, Wong, I told you already that I don't need you or anyone else to help me or protect me or whatever it is you're trying to do. So just run along" Rika stated with her head held high.

"I'm not trying to do anything but talk with you, Rika."

"Oh? So you want to interrogate me too? I've had enough questions for a life time, thank you" Rika replied angrily.

"Rika…"

"Don't '_**Rika**_' me! You guys have no right to keep on forcing your questions and assumptions down my throat" she stated bitterly.

"What? Who's been doing that to you?" Henry asked with confusion.

"Don't play dumb with me, Wong. I know you know." As Rika glared at Henry, she noticed the complete and utter confusion in his expression. "Or maybe you don't" she muttered.

"Seriously, Rika. What happened? Is someone harassing you?" Henry asked as politely as possible.

"I-… Wait, when did you last talk to the others?"

"Hmm… I think it was Friday. I was busy all weekend taking care of Suzy with her cold. Why?"

"Come on, you must of talked to one of them in school, right?" Rika asked suspiciously.

"I'm a grade above them Rika, just like you, remember? I only ever see them in the hallways. Unless you mean Ryo, but I think he's going to a different school."

"Oh… right."

"Why? What's wrong?" Henry asked, concern filled in his eyes.

"Nothing; just a stupid misunderstanding. I thought maybe they spread it onto you too" Rika answered, focusing her eyes on the ground.

"Even if they did, I would've asked you about it before coming to any conclusions, Rika" Henry said sincerely with the slightest blush.

"You're just saying that" Rika mumbled.

"No, I'm serious, Rika. I'm not the type of guy that would talk behind your back" Henry said as he stopped walking and looked at her seriously. Rika stopped walking as well and turned to face him.

"So what do you want then, Wong? If you didn't come to tell me false assumptions and interrogate me with your silly theories, why _**did **_you come?"

"I just wanted to talk. We _**have**_ done that before, you know" Henry said with a teasing smile. Rika couldn't help but blush a little as she turned her head away from him.

"Okay, fine then. What do you want to talk about?"

The two began walking again and just talking about school and other general topics. Rika managed to laugh and forget about all of her worries for a little while, but then she finally found herself at her house. Nausua hit her quickly and she could feel the blood drain from her. She turned to Henry with a weak smile.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye" Rika stated, trying desperately to keep an even voice.

"Yeah… I'll talk to you later I guess?" Henry asked hopefully.

"Yeah, that'd be fine I suppose" Rika replied with a nod.

"Uh… well… bye then" Henry said, starting to walking away from the house.

"Wait, Henry!"

He whirled around to see Rika with fear in her eyes. It was only for a moment though, as if it hadn't happened at all, and her expression seemed to be perfectly fine.

"Yeah?" Henry asked.

"I-… umm… never mind" Rika sighed, staring at the ground.

"Hey, Rika?"

"What?" Rika asked, looking back up at Henry.

"I'll see you tomorrow after school, okay?" he said with a gentle smile.

"Do whatever you want, Wong" Rika scoffed as she crossed her arms and looked away in feigned apathy.

Henry only smiled and waved goodbye as he walked away from her house. He knew that it was just the way Rika was. Deep down, he knew that she cared about her friends. Even though she was hard to read, Henry had a feeling that Rika was happy about his declaration of seeing her tomorrow. She needed him to be her friend right now. zHe knew that much, even if he wasn't sure what was wrong.

* * *

The school week went by without too much incident. The rumors calmed down at school, but they were still circulating. It was times like these that Rika was glad none of her friends went to her school. Dan also hadn't done much aside from beating and harassing her. She was just thankful that he hadn't tried to touch her again. Or sell her off to his friends. Henry had walked her home from school all that week to Rika's surprise. She hadn't thought he would actually do it, but somehow, she was glad that he did. It was nice to forget about everything and be normal, if only for a little while.

"Rika! One of your little friends is at the door!" Rumiko yelled out.

_Oh great… I bet its Ryo or somebody here to harass me again…_

"Tell them I'm not here!" Rika yelled back.

"Rika Nonaka, get your butt in here right this minute and greet your friend!"

"Fine, I'm coming, I'm coming."

As Rika opened the entrance door, she was surprised to see Henry Wong waiting for her. He immediately gave her his gentle smile and walked closer to her.

"Hey, Rika."

"Wong? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if maybe you wanted to hang out" Henry suggested with unusual shyness.

"Uh… I guess so. It's better than staying here I suppose" Rika replied nonchalantly. She quickly yelled her plans to her mother and walked out the door. Henry and her began walking down the street when a question formed in Rika's head.

"So where exactly are we going?"

"The park" Henry replied coolly.

"And why is that?"

"Don't we meet at the park every Saturday?" Henry asked with innocent confusion.

"Yeah, I guess, but I'm not exactly on good terms with them right now" Rika answered with annoyance.

"Well, now's your chance to clear up the misunderstanding" Henry stated.

"They didn't listen to me before, I don't think they're going to listen to me now" Rika grumbled.

"You never know until you try, Rika."

Rika sighed and simply walked the rest of the way to the park in silence. She knew Henry was right, but it wasn't exactly something she could clear up. She couldn't tell anyone the real reason she became pregnant and Jeri was there with her when she took the pregnancy test so she couldn't lie about that. She could only hope that they would just ignore the issue and pretend that nothing happened.

"Here goes nothing" Rika murmured as they approached the group.

"Hey! It's Henry" Kazu announced.

"And Rika too" Kenta noted.

"They came together? They must be all lovey dovey now" Kazu joked. Nobody smiled or laughed at the comment except for Kenta. Rika just stood there awkwardly while Takato and Jeri looked nervously at the ground and Ryo angrily ignored her.

"Hey, guys" Henry greeted.

"Yeah, hi we see you, that's all great. What I wanna know is what's up with this atmosphere" Kazu complained.

"It's nothing, so shut up about it" Rika quickly stated harshly.

"And there goes the Ice Princess again" Ryo countered.

"Just put a sock in it, _**king**_" Rika growled.

"Make me" Ryo retorted.

"Stop it, guys. We don't have to fight about this" Jeri interrupted.

"Yeah, well you also didn't have to go and tell Takato about it" Rika snapped coldly.

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Rika regretted them. Jeri averted her eyes back to the ground, looking like a kicked puppy. Rika hadn't meant to hurt her friend, but it was the truth. If Jeri hadn't told Takato about Rika's pregnancy, nobody would have known about it except them two.

"You didn't need to snap at her, Rika" Takato said softly.

"Just shut up, goggle head. You're just as guilty as she is. You just _**had **_to go and freak out about it" Rika hissed.

"Okay, is anyone else confused here?" Kazu suddenly blurted out. Kenta raised his hand in agreement.

"Just ask the slut to explain. I bet she's great with her mouth" Ryo spat.

For a split second, Rika's eyes showed complete shock and hurt at the comment, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. However, it was there long enough for Ryo to notice and he immediately bit his lip in regret.

"Whatever. I'm out of here" Rika barely managed to say without her voice cracking.

"Wait, Rika-"

"No, you're totally right, Ryo. I'm just a stupid slut" Rika stated bitterly as she started to jog off. The rest of the gang was left in awkward silence.

"So… uh… what the hell just happened?" Kazu asked.

"Yeah, did something happen between you two?" Kenta questioned.

"Just leave it alone for now, guys" Takato told them gently. They only nodded in response.

"I'm not sure what happened, but I'm pretty sure that was uncalled for, Ryo" Henry spoke up.

"It's none of your-… no, you're right, Wong" Ryo responded.

"Is she going to be okay?" Jeri questioned with grave concern.

"Rika's tough, she'll be fine" Takato comforted.

"Being tough doesn't mean you don't get hurt, Takato. Even rocks can break" Henry stated.

"I'll go after her and apologize" Ryo suggested.

Henry nodded in agreement and without another word, Ryo started running off in the direction Rika had gone. After a few minutes of guessing directions and searching, Ryo found her struggling with some man. The man had a tight grip on her arm and was pulling her into her house. He finally got a firmer hold of her and threw her through the doorway. Ryo could see her hit the wall inside of the house just before the man shut the door. Ryo instantly began sprinting toward the house.

He got to the door and swung it open without even so much as a warning knock. He began searching the rooms frantically before he heard Rika yelling. He ran toward the direction of her voice and came upon the door to the room her yells were coming from. He could now make out the words as he tried opening the locked door.

"Let go of me, Dan!"

"Shut up, bitch! You sure are giving me a lot of trouble today."

"Stop it! Don't!

"I said, shut up, slut!"

"Please! Just stop!"

Then he heard a resonating slap. Ryo had finally had it. He backed away from the door and then charged at it with all of his strength. The door flew open as it splintered and Ryo came upon a gut-wrenching scene. This man had gotten on top of Rika and had ripped some of her top off, which was now currently in his hand. Rika had her hands pushing against the man's chest as if to try and push him off. On impact with the door, the man and Rika turned their heads to Ryo. He was absolutely furious.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Ryo roared as he slammed himself into the man. The two landed on the floor and began wrestling each other. Rika was too shocked to even move. Someone had actually saved her.

"Get off of me you brat!" Dan yelled as he threw Ryo against the wall.

"You sick old man, you're not gonna touch Rika ever again" Ryo snarled as he threw a punch.

"Oh? Is that how you see it?" Dan teased, catching Ryo's fist.

"No, it's what I know" Ryo replied while attempting a kick.

"The truth is that she actually enjoys it" Dan whispered mockingly as he blocked the kick.

Ryo took a glance at Rika who was only staring wide-eyed into space and shaking. She had curled her legs against her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Just this small glance at her created an opening, allowing Dan to push Ryo onto the ground. Infuriated, Ryo struggled to get up, but was prevented by Dan's foot on his chest. Just then, a gasp was heard from the other room. Dan smirked cruelly in triumph.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ryo demanded.

"You little creep! How dare you try and touch Rika!" Dan suddenly yelled. Ryo stared in confusion before hearing footsteps heading toward the room.

"You bastard" Ryo seethed just before a yelp came from the doorway.

It was Rumiko, staring at the scene utterly horrified. Though Ryo knew he was in a tough spot, he fervently believed that it would be fine since Rika knew the truth. The man wouldn't be able to weasel out of his sick deeds; of that Ryo was sure.

* * *

_**CHAPTER END**_

Woah, well that took a long time… I want to give a special thanks to Xxhamsters1995 and John C. for suggesting ideas for this story. I won't be able to use them all, but they definitely got me thinking. I hope you continue to enjoy this story and all its brutality.

(Their comments:)

**Xxhamsters1995- **

_I really like how the story is going so far. You should definitely keep writing, no matter how long it takes you to update. Hm . . . maybe Rika could have a miscarriage? After all, she's being abused as hell, it could be plausible. Or perhaps Ryo could come in and kick the hell out of Dan because he's just that good. c= __Whatever you end up writing, I've no doubt it'll turn out good^^._

**John C****-**

_bring back Renamon!That would be Hypnos hasn't been mentioned much in this. Yamaki would help. He's a shadow government badass. He'd black bag the dude and you'd never see him again. Also Ryo could be a potential ass kicker. He sure has a stake in this. Just some suggestions._

Thank you guys again! Seriously, I'd still be completely stuck without your guys' boost. Also, thank all you other reviewers and readers out there! Your comments always make my day, so don't be afraid to review no matter what you have to say. Well I guess that's it for now… Hopefully the next chapter will be coming out sooner rather than later.


	8. Chapter 8: Breaking Bricks

Hey guys! This is chapter 8, ready to roll. I would also like to point out that I went back and cleaned up the previous chapters, so I hope they look a little nicer now… I also fixed some mistakes I had made and changed a few minor things around, but nothing major that changes the story at all. And I know it's a little late for this, but I figured I'd post the ages for the characters. I'll put it on the first chapter as well. I should probably point out (just in case you missed the hints within the story) that this story is set in the end of winter and the start of spring. Anyway~! Enough of that, I'll let you read and enjoy this awful story!

Rika – 15 (almost 16)

Takato – 15 (just recently turned)

Jeri – 14 (on the way to 15)

Henry – 16

Ryo – 17

Kazu – 15 (just recently turned)

Kenta - 14 (on the way to 15)

* * *

Chapter 8

Rika sat silently on the bench inside the police station while Dan and Rumiko were being questioned. Ryo sat next to her, but he didn't say a word as he was examining her. One of the officers had given his coat to Rika in an attempt to cover the revealed torso from her torn shirt. Nevertheless, Ryo could see her bruised skin behind the shredded cloth. He quickly diverted his eyes though, for he couldn't bear to see the girl he liked in such a state. Finally, Ryo's heart couldn't take it any longer and he broke the silence.

"Is this what's been going on?" he barely managed to ask. She didn't respond at first, but then she slowly nodded as she looked away from him. She didn't think she could look anyone in eye anymore.

"Ryo Akiyama? You're up" an officer boomed.

Ryo nodded and got up from the bench, following the officer. The bench seat was quickly filled by Rika's mother. She began ranting about how sorry she was and things like that, but Rika tuned her out. Standing next to them was Dan, staring at Rika intently while her mother was busy fawning over her. Rika couldn't seem to look away from his cold, sadistic eyes.

Minutes seemed like hours as the three waited there. To Rika's relief, Ryo and the officer finally returned. Now it was her turn. She followed the police officer into the next room. There was a silver table and two chairs on either side of it. In one of the chairs sat a stiff looking man with glasses, motioning for her to take the other seat, which she did.

"Ms. Nonaka, could you please tell us the nature of this incident?" the stiff man questioned.

"Uh, _**excuse me**_?" Rika asked, feeling offended.

_What does it look like happened? Do I __**look**__ like I'm having a normal, happy-go-lucky day?_

"Ms. Nonaka, we need to hear the truth from you" the man explained emotionlessly.

"Fine, whatever. Just ask your stupid questions" Rika grumbled.

"Did this happen at your consent?"

"Yeah, I definitely asked to get beat and bruised" Rika scoffed sarcastically.

"I was referring to the _**intent**_ of the incident, Ms. Nonaka" the man clarified.

_Would he just quit beating around the bush?_

"I don't know what you mean" Rika replied nonchalantly.

**Hypocrite**

"Ms. Nonaka, I have explained that we need the truth from you. If you want us to help you then-"

"I don't recall asking for your 'help', _**sir**_" Rika snapped.

The man cleared his throat and pushed up his glasses. He wrote some things on his little clipboard before focusing on Rika once again.

"Ms. Nonaka, I'll get straight to the point then. Did Ryo Akiyama beat you and attempt rape?" the man inquired.

"What? No! It was-… I wasn't-…"

"You were assaulted, Rika. That is a fact. We just need to know who did it" the man stated.

"It wasn't Ryo. He may be a jerk who's full of himself, but he would never do that. Not to me, not to anyone" Rika answered sternly.

"So who attacked you?" the man asked bluntly.

"It was Dan. Dan was the one who tried to… tried to…"

"Rape you?" the man finished.

Rika only looked away and nodded softly. It took all she had to keep from shaking. She was so afraid of Dan and she cursed herself for it. Rika wouldn't have even told the man that Dan had done it if it weren't for Ryo. She couldn't let her friend pay for something that that monster had done.

"That will be all, Ms. Nonaka. Please follow Mrs. Yamato" the man said before leaving the room himself.

Rika slowly got up from the chair and saw a woman in a nurse's outfit outside the door. She forced herself to go to the woman and followed her into yet another room.

_I don't even know what's happening anymore…_

**You've been caught in the act with Dan, slut.**

_Dan… what if Dan finds out that I told them?_

**Maybe you two could live it up in prison. I'm sure the men need entertainment there.**

_He'll kill me… No, even worse, he'll kill mom! I'm such an idiot…_

* * *

Ryo, Dan and Rumiko stood outside a room with an officer. Rika was inside the room, unaware that one of the walls was made of one-way glass. She began to remove her clothing as the nurse was presumably instructing. Ryo immediately turned his head away out of courtesy, but his interest was piqued when he heard Rumiko gasp.

Ryo looked back at the one-way glass to see Rika half naked and covered in sickeningly yellow and purple bruises, along with scars and scratches. The most prominent thing, however, was the scarring along her stomach reading "slut". He could hear Rika's mother start weeping, mumbling over and over about her "baby girl". He could also hear Dan's sickly sweet words of comfort that made Ryo want to puke.

The worst part of it all for Ryo was that Rika hadn't been showing any anger or hatred, but instead had a face of shame. He had never seen Rika with a look of shame and now he never wanted to see it again. He turned his head away, unable to cope with the newfound pain he was feeling from looking at the frail girl. It was a gut-wrenching, heart-breaking feeling that Ryo could not shake. The only feeling stronger than it was his immense hatred and anger toward Dan. He looked up to see the man smirking at the girl beyond the one-way glass, as if admiring some sort of sick piece of art. His green eyes held a sadistic madness that Ryo could not comprehend.

"I promise I'll make that bastard pay, Rika. Don't you worry" Ryo muttered to himself.

* * *

"Stop lying, Rika!" Rumiko yelled.

Rika, Dan and Rumiko were all standing in the interrogation room together with that stiff looking man. Rika figured he was the sanest person in that room at the moment.

"I'm not lying… why would I lie about this?" Rika yelled back.

"I know you hate me dating and you've never liked any of my boyfriends, but this is taking it too far" Rumiko continued, but seemed unsure of her own words.

"It's okay, Rumiko; I understand how she feels" Dan spoke up.

"Oh, Dan… I'm so sorry you got caught up in this" Rumiko said, but looked at him skeptically. How was he able to take all this so well?

"Rika, I'm not trying to replace your father; he'll always have a special place in your heart" Dan gently told her. Rika only glared in response.

"Excuse me; I'm sorry to break up the touching moment, but we need wrap this up" the stiff man suddenly interrupted.

"What? What about my daughter? That boy should pay for what he did to my poor Rika" Rumiko argued.

"Well, if you're going to press charges, then do so, but there isn't really any evidence to prove who did it. Just one person's word against another. But, that's your problem; we just need to close this case" the man stated coldly.

"No! Ryo didn't do anything!" Rika insisted once again.

"Rika, I want you to tell me the absolute truth. I'm here for you" Rumiko told her sweetly.

Rika knew that Rumiko had a hard time understanding her, but it was times like this that she wished her mother would simply just listen. Dan snuck another threatening glare at Rika. She knew that if she gave up now, Dan would kill her and her mother. Speaking against him had signed Rika's death warrant.

"We don't have to take the brat to court if you don't want to, Rika" Dan sighed. Both women turned to him in complete shock.

"But Dan-"

"Rumiko, I know how you feel; I want that monster locked up too. But it would only hurt Rika to have to retell and relive it all in court. We should just have her come to terms with what happened and tell the truth. Then we can go home and help her recover" Dan explained.

"He didn't do it, though!" Rika argued.

"Rika…" Rumiko whispered with sadness in her eyes.

_Why…? Why is this happening? He didn't do anything wrong… he saved me…_

"If… if I say that Ryo assaulted me… we won't press charges, right?" Rika finally mumbled.

"Yes, Rika; I just want you to start fresh and tell me the truth" Rumiko replied.

"And then we can go home… and no one has to get hurt, right?" Rika asked, directing her question more toward Dan.

"That's right. No one is going to hurt you or your mother while I'm around" Dan nodded.

Rika sighed and diverted her eyes to the ground. She couldn't believe what she was going to do, but it was better than having it blown up onto the news. She wasn't going to get Ryo in trouble for her own weakness.

"Fine… Ryo… Ryo is the one who… who tried to... who raped me" Rika managed to get out, choking on her words.

Rika didn't let tears fall though. She would keep them in. She didn't deserve to cry. Rumiko hugged onto her daughter, crying her eyes out in pity and relief. Rumiko truly believed that her daughter was now safe, but Rika knew better. She knew she would be punished later for what she had tried to do. But at least Ryo wouldn't get ridiculed or thrown in jail. At least she had saved her friend.

Later at home that night, the three walked into the Nonaka home, tired from the long day. Rika had begun shaking just at the thought of what Dan would punish her with. She wasn't sure what he could do that was worse than what he had already done.

"Oh, Rika… my poor baby girl, you're shaking" Rumiko said with a concerned expression.

"I'm fine, mom" Rika bluntly replied.

"Come on, you can sleep with me tonight. I can't imagine how tough it's been holding all that in" Rumiko frowned.

_You can't even __**begin**__ to understand…_

"Whatever," Rika sighed.

Rika headed to her room to change, leaving Dan and Rumiko to talk. She was a little wary of leaving him alone with her mother, but she figured that if he was going to do something, he would have already done it. She finished getting into her sweatpants and tank-top and walked back to her mother's room.

"Hey, mom" Rika sighed.

"Come here, Rika" Rumiko soothed as she embraced her daughter.

**She just acting nice so that her little mistake won't go and make a fool of her, that's all.**

_I wasn't a mistake!_

**Do you really believe that?**

"I'm sorry, Rika; I didn't mean to be harsh like that. I'm just worried about you, hun" Rumiko apologized.

"Whatever; it's fine," Rika scoffed.

"No, it's not fine. I want you to be able to tell me anything. I know you were scared, but, Rika, I'm your mother. I'm here to protect you" Rumiko explained.

"I know" Rika simply sighed, diverting her eyes.

"Now let's get to bed. We've both had a rough day" Rumiko smiled softly.

Without any further argument, Rika got into the bed with her mother. It was warm and it had her mother's scent everywhere. Though she would never admit it aloud, Rika was comforted by it. Her mother held her gently, rubbing the bruises on her arms with caution. For once, Rika Nonaka would finally get a good night's sleep.

* * *

Rika shot up out of bed, sweating. She blinked a few times before sitting up in the bed, still exhausted. She had an awful nightmare; one that apparently woke her up. She supposed she was glad that she couldn't remember the dream though.

Rika carefully slipped out of the bed to make sure she didn't wake up her mother. She wasn't sure what time it was, but she guessed it was still rather early. Rika quietly walked to her bedroom and got dressed in her usual outfit. She barely had any bruises left on her arms; the bad ones were in places that normally weren't seen. So she figured she could get away with just putting some make up to cover them. Finally, she pulled her hair up and walked into the kitchen area. Rika left a note to her mother saying that she had gone out and swiftly left the estate.

"This is stupid. I don't even know where I'm going" Rika murmured to herself.

_Anywhere but home is fine I guess… Just as long as I don't have to see anybody I know…_

"Oh… it's you, Rika…"

_Of course this happens… Life is really starting to suck…_

Rika looked in the direction to see a hurt looking Ryo. She supposed that she really hurt him, but she had to lie in order to protect him as best as she could. If she hadn't, both of them would be all over the news and in court. Rika wasn't going to let Ryo's image get ruined just because she couldn't protect herself properly. It was her own problem to deal with; not his.

"Hey, Ryo" Rika sighed.

"That's it? 'Hey, Ryo'? How about an apology for _**lying**_ to the police and letting that…that sick _**bastard **_get away with touching you!" Ryo yelled.

"Don't talk about things like you understand!" Rika yelled in return.

"Yeah, I guess I really don't understand. I don't understand how you could do that to me! To yourself! Maybe you do like him doing that stuff to you after all."

"You-… why would you-…"

"You're right; I shouldn't have said that; I went too far. But… Rika… why would you do this?"

Rika turned her head away in shame at herself. Ryo had saved her; or tried to at least. Yet, she had thrown all his efforts away and went back to Dan with her tail between her legs. She was weak; she was a disgrace; she knew that. She just didn't want to admit that to Ryo. If she did, it would be like admitting that Dan had beaten her. This was something Rika had to do herself and she couldn't let any of her friends get dragged into her mess.

"It's not your concern anymore" Rika mumbled just loud enough for Ryo to hear.

"Of course it is! I care about you, Rika" Ryo exasperatedly replied with a hurt expression.

"I don't need you to care about me. I don't need anyone to. I've been just fine by myself" Rika insisted.

"You don't have to go through this alone. I can help you, just let me in, Rika" Ryo pleaded.

"I don't need your help, don't you get it? I can handle this by myself and nobody else needs to interfere" Rika explained coldly.

"So is that how it's gonna be, princess?"

Rika flinched at the nickname, but shook it off quickly. She had to get Ryo to keep his mouth shut about this and she had to distance herself from him. She would only bring him down. He was a good guy, and she didn't deserve a knight in shining armor to save her. She had to do this alone.

"It's the only thing I could do, Ryo. It was either this or he would force me to press charges against you" Rika tried to explain.

"Since when do _**you**_ take orders? I thought you were stronger than this, Rika" Ryo responded rather harshly as he walked away.

She knew that she had hurt him. She would never be able to take her words back and Ryo would probably never forgive her. Rika was strong though, and she didn't need friends. That is what she truly believed. She could do anything all on her own.

_Who needs him anyway?_

**Rika Nonaka doesn't need any friends.**

_I've always been alone….So why does it hurt so much…?_

Rika put her hand to her cheek, realizing that she had tears streaming down her face. She tried to stop the tears, telling herself to pull it together, but that only made it worse. She began crying her eyes out and fell down onto her knees, desperately trying to wipe away her tears. She tried biting her lip and even slamming her fist against the ground, but she still couldn't hold it in. At last, she gave in and simply cried to her heart's content, praying that no one would find her like that. For once, her silent wish was granted.

* * *

Furious. That was the only word to describe Rika's reaction. It was hours ago that she had argued with Rumiko, but the anger still burned when she fell asleep. She couldn't believe that her own mother would do that to her. Though, Rika supposed Rumiko wasn't completely to blame; she didn't know any better. She was doing what she thought was best for her daughter. Rika growled again as she remembered the earlier conversation with her mother:

_Rika walked through the door of her home. She was in a bad mood ever since she had broken down earlier; angry at herself for crying so much lately. Now, she was coming home to see her mother flirting with Dan. Rika wanted to puke._

_"Oh! Rika! You're home!" Rumiko flustered._

_"Yeah, whatever" Rika sighed._

_"Don't greet your mother that way" Dan frowned._

_"Its fine, Dan; that's just how she is. Oh, but, Rika, I have some news to tell you" Rumiko said._

_"Hmm?" Rika questioned, not really interested._

_"Dan's moving in with us" Rumiko cautiously told her._

_Rika froze up in shock. What was she supposed to say to that? She hated Dan and she had every right to hate him. He was a monster; and that was putting it** nicely**. Rika was furious that he would now be moving into her own home._

_"Oh, look, she's speechless" Dan teased._

_"Why is he moving in?" Rika blurted out._

_"Rika, Dan is a very sweet man and I think it would be safer with a man around the house. Especially with what happened to you… well, we need all the protection we can get" Rumiko explained._

_"**Protection?** That's the **last **thing I'd expect from him" Rika snapped._

_"Not all men are as evil and disgusting as that Akiyama boy, Rika" Rumiko calmly stated._

_"Ryo has nothing to do with this! This is about Dan. I… I hate him!" Rika yelled._

_"Rika..."_

_"No, no, it's alright, Rumiko. It'll just take some time, that's all. She'll be used to me being here in no time" Dan interrupted._

_"You're so understanding" Rumiko complimented._

_"Understanding my ass" Rika mumbled quietly._

_"So, I'm in the guest room, right?" Dan asked._

_"Yes; here, let me show you" Rumiko replied._

_Rumiko led Dan down the hallway and he snuck a sadistic smirk toward Rika on his way out. Rika shuddered, but she kept her composure. However, she wasn't going to take any chances tonight. Rika grabbed something to eat for dinner, her backpack, and a drink before heading to her room. She then quickly locked the door. Dan wasn't gonna visit her tonight; not unless he wanted to break the door down and wake her mother up. Rika thought that maybe she might be able to rest well tonight._

Unfortunately, a good night's rest had apparently too much to ask for. Rika shot up in her bed in a cold sweat. Another nightmare had left her sleep restless. Not only that, but it was also midnight. Rika sighed as she calmed herself down.

_Maybe a glass of water will help…_

Rika quietly got out of bed and unlocked her door. Without making any sound, she snuck down the hallway and into the kitchen. Just as she was about to grab a cup, however, hands suddenly grabbed her and covered her mouth. A muffled yell escaped her lips as she was dragged back into her room, squirming. Rika was then harshly thrown onto the floor. When she looked up to see her attacker, it wasn't too much of a surprise to see none other than Dan.

"Rika, Rika, Rika…"

"You better leave my room before I scream" Rika glared.

"Oh? The tough 'I-can-do-anything-all-by-myself' Rika is going to scream out for her mommy? This ought to be good" Dan taunted.

"You think you know me? You don't know a thing" Rika seethed.

"Oh, but I do, Rika. Your mom certainly likes to talk. It's a good thing she's hot or I'd have already dumped the bitch" Dan smirked.

"Leave my mother out of this" Rika growled.

"Then let's just skip right to the main course, shall we?" Dan chuckled, moving menacingly toward her. She would always continue fighting him, but Rika knew that she would lose. Rika bit her lip as she prepared for her fate.

* * *

"Get up" a voice growled.

Rika opened her eyes just before a foot slammed into her chest. She involuntarily yelped as she tumbled from the impact. Slowly, she picked herself up and sat on the ground. She was absolutely sore and wasn't even sure if she could even stand. Rika shifted her eyes toward the man who woke her up; Dan.

"I thought I told you to clean this mess up" he hissed.

"Sorry, I was a little busy falling into unconsciousness" Rika retorted as confidently as she could. However, she couldn't help but freeze up in fear when he glared at her response.

"Shut up and clean up your mess, whore. You know, it wouldn't have gotten so messy if you hadn't enjoyed it so goddamn much" Dan sneered.

Before Rika could even respond, he turned and left the room. She sighed and wobbled to her feet as she went into the bathroom. Without even bothering to look in the mirror, Rika went into the shower and turned the hot water on. Unwillingly, her memories of the previous night flowed into her mind.

_Why? Why did my body have to… _

**Respond to his touch? Feel pleasure? Because you're a slut, of course.**

_That's not true! I hate what he's doing to me!_

**That's what you say, but your body gives you away.**

Rika sat on her legs on the shower floor, holding her head in shame. Even though Dan had done this multiple times to her, the previous night was the first time she had ever let a moan escape her mouth. She wondered if she really was turning into a worthless whore.

As these thoughts passed through her mind, a razor caught her eye. Rika picked it up and cut her wrist without even thinking. When she finally realized what she had done, her horror quickly melted into peace.

_I wonder how nice it would be to just end it all…_

Rika eyes widened and she shook her head. She swiftly cleaned the cut and wrapped it in bandages after exiting the shower. For the first time in a while, she looked in the mirror. All she could see was a pale, bruised version of herself and the dull look in her eyes that reflected her feelings. Ryo's words rang in her ears.

'_**I thought you were stronger than this, Rika'**_

_I'm not strong at all… I never was…_

* * *

_**CHAPTER END**_

Geeez, that took me a while x.x I thought I'd be able to fix and re-post the chapter sooner, but Summer laziness got ahold of me... anyway, that's it for now! Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to get the next chapter done soon... Curse my poor motivational skills! Anyway, please continue to read and review! For those of you who commented on the previous post of Chapter 8, thank you so much and if you want to review this updated post, feel free to review on the other chapters if you want. Later~

Replies to Reviewers!

**Xxhamster1995** - Aww you're so nice! And its so true about the complaining thing... but I just try to take it all in strides. You can't please everyone ^^; even though I try my darnest to. Thank you for your reviews and I hope you continue to read it :D

**John C – **Haha I know right? I figured a 16 year old kid could fight on almost even grounds against an adult like Dan. Its definitely a step, but I wonder which direction it will go. I guess you'll just have to read and find out :p

**GabyOgando** – Thank you so much! I dunno if I said this before or not, but I'm aspiring to become an author, so that really means a lot to me. And just when I thought I wasn't gonna get anymore reviews ^^ made my day.

**GabyOgando **(again) – T_T You seriously have motivated me. I was lacking the drive to finish this chapter and I just so happened to check if there were any reviews or anything (which I had seriously doubted) and BAM I instantly moved by your comment! Checking every day? Bless your soul T_T tears of joy right here. I appreciate your support, I seriously do. So! I have finished this chapter with the help and inspiration of my fans! Thank you ^^

**John C** (Your Chapter 8 review) – Thank you for being completely honest with me. I've redone the scenes with Rumiko in it, but the end result is still the same. I know this story is 'my baby' as you put it, but I want to make it as good as I can and you brought up a really great point. I wouldn't have pulled it if I wasn't sure about the chapter in the first place. As soon as I posted it, I wasn't 100% set on it; something felt wrong. I've fixed it now though and I feel much more sure about it than before. Thanks again!

**XxRxX** – Thank you! It's nice to have new people review ^^ I can't do much about the realism; I haven't ever been in such a situation as Rika or anywhere close to it. I hope I at least am conveying the feelings clearly enough. Please continue to read and review!

**Lavenderangel** – I hadn't noticed that I did that until you mentioned it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. In order to be a better author, I need to challenge myself when it comes to advancing the plot. I'll try to fix that from now on ^^

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**UPDATE (October 24th 2012)**

Hey guys, I know it's been a SUPER long time since I've written anything, but I've been busy with school and trying to figure out what the heck I wanna do with my life. And I've had trouble with my writing lately... I can't seem to get anything down on paper. But hopefully once I've gotten this first year of college out of the way, it'll come back to me. Sorry again and hopefully I'll have the next chapter up by summer time~

**UPDATE (July 26th 2013)**

Wow. I'm like, super awful D: I haven't written anything new for this story in like... what? A year? Longer than that? *sigh* I'm just terrible. I haven't been able to write ANYTHING down since I last updated! And I have an egging suspicion it's because I'm not in the dark place like I used to be. See, I have been dealing with depression since, like, freshman year (of high school) though it wasn't diagnosed until my sophomore year. Anyway, the point is, I had all this... I dunno, angst? And I was able to use that to fuel my stories. But ever since I've become more mentally healthy (which, don't get me wrong, I've been totally thankful for that), I've been stuck in this rut when it comes to writing! Maybe it's just coincidence and maybe I just need to find something else to fuel my creativeness, but for now I'm stumped. Especially on this story because it's so dark.

On the bright side, I have thought of a new story idea. I've started vaguely writing it, but since I'm not sure exactly which show I want to use (Sailor Moon, Legend of Korra, or iCarly), I haven't put anything really concrete down. It's going to be a much brighter story than Broken Walls (though, really, that's not hard to do) and it'll be more focused on romance. It is, however, going to be a shoujo ai/lesbian/girlxgirl story, so I'm sorry if that offends anyone or isn't in anyone's interest. It'll be a bit of a gender-bender too, but, well, it's hard to explain. Anyway! I need help deciding which show to use so if you think you'd like to contribute in my decision-making, go to my profile and vote on the poll. I'd really appreciate it :3 (I need all the help I can get!) If you want more information on the what the story is about, just PM me. If I get a bunch of PMs curious about the storyline, I'll do my best to give a summary of it on the poll (I suck at summaries).

Be warned though, I probably won't be posting anything for this new story anytime soon. I don't want to upload it until I'm finished (or at least almost finished) with it. Don't want to end up stuck with ANOTHER unfinished story on here, disappointing all you readers D: I still feel so bad for leaving this one hanging... but I seriously don't know where to go. So sorry once again! I promise, one day I'll finish it. Just not today x.x


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